LiD: Rise and Crescendo
by xoRaining Diamondsox
Summary: AU: Riku’s band has the chance of a lifetime—they’ve finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? SK NR RA. /Lang.Sugg.themes.Sub.abuse/
1. Sealing the LiD

**A/N:** Welcome to my first fic! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I think I will with the ones to come! It's an AU and takes place in a world sorta like ours, but not ours… k? Anyways, on with the fic!

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Disney, Square-Enix and those lucky people get everything!

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter One: _Sealing the LiD

* * *

Sweltering heat was beating down on the band, along with the roars of a pumped up crowd. A light breeze picked up, but it did nothing to calm the crowd down. Although, it's refreshing touch was enough to cool down the anxious musicians on stage, and finish their song with ease.

Strumming out the final chords on his guitar, Riku let out the finishing lines with extra power.

"_Let's take it all and leave it brittle_

_Is that the answer to your riddle?"_

His feet planted firmly on the stage, Riku let his last note on his electric guitar ring. The crowd went absolutely wild for the star of the show, not that Riku had done it all by himself of course. Sora held a firm support for Riku with bass; Kairi had held strong and accented with her keyboard, and Tidus kept the beat going on drums to the fans' delights. Turning briefly, Riku exchanged an encouraging grin with his band mates.

Not that anyone in the crowds below the stage actually _knew _who these teens were; they had just come for the show.

_Whatever, _Riku thought passively to himself. _This isn't about the fans; not yet. This is about making sure we're at least better than the other guy. _Though he hated to sound conceited, Riku was pretty confident in his band, _Light in Darkness._

Kairi, coming up with the name, had said it was "poetic", when she enthusiastically went ahead and filled in the name on the registration form. As annoyed as they were, the guys hadn't had the heart to break her spirit for the new band name. In the hopes of not coming off as another angsty, complaining, punk rock group, the boys had shortened it down to _LiD_.

But still; they sounded like some damned devout religious rock band in Riku's opinion, but it was too late to change that now.

Riku eyed the crowd. Their performance had gone well. _The Riddle_ had definitely been a great song choice to end everything with. _Thank you Kairi for that one…_ her choices weren't so bad, _all _the time then.

The crowd was still going wild, and a few had even started moshing. Even though he was grateful for the show-out, Riku couldn't help but groan at the crowd's behaviour. _Just wait till we're outta here… _He reminded himself that they very well may not be.

As if he had read the teen's mind, the judge for the competition stood up. With bated breath, Riku didn't allow his eyes to wander from the man standing there. To somewhat of his relief, he saw a twinkle in the man's eye as he beamed down at them. The man spoke.

"Everyone, settle down for a few moments!" he roared unnecessarily into his microphone. Riku cringed; _at least I learned how to sing into a microphone without blowing anyone's eardrums…_ Riku stopped thinking quickly, for the man was speaking again.

"After some discussion with my fellows, we have come to one unanimous conclusion!" This time, the crowd really did go silent, and Riku fingered the strings on his guitar nervously, now dropping his gaze as the man spoke again. _Come on…_

"This year's winner of the State Band Battle is… _Light in Darkness_!" If possible, the crowd roared even louder than before. Riku felt an immense amount of relief flood through him. Of course, he was happy too, but worry had been stronger in his mind. Now he could rest easy… _this is it… so far._

_After weeks of practicing, tons of scrapped lyrics and tunes, we did it. We're the State Champions. _

Despite his normally indifferent attitude, Riku let a smirk make its way on his face when he felt his band mates swamp him in a massive bear hug as the crowd continued cheering. Indeed, the silver haired young man even returned some of the emotion for once. The crowd of people had even started to make its way on stage; just as a man in a black suit appeared next to the band.

"You guys… out of here. We need to get you backstage to talk to the judges about details." Nodding numbly, _LiD _weaved their way through the crowd behind the man. Finally, they reached backstage and all in one piece. There the judges stood; Riku did not know any of their names, but he could care less. If all went well at the nationals, then he wouldn't ever see this place again.

That was the whole reason Riku had worked his band so hard for these State Finals. Getting out of the small town and making it big, on his own terms. His way. _No stupid Dad telling me where or why… _Winning in their school had been a piece of cake, and the Regional level was hardly anymore difficult. The state level hadn't proved to be extremely hard either, though they _did_ actually meet some competition.

"You guys did amazing. There was almost no competition," one of the judges said, still beaming. Riku almost rolled his eyes.

"We know you'll do us proud at the Nationals," another added. The one who had announced their victory approached them with his hand outstretched, which they all shook. Pulling something out of his briefcase, the man handed them a two passes each with an envelope of information and more forms.

"They're the passes for the Nationals," he said as they examined everything. "They should also to get you in the Hotel you'll be staying at while down there."

"Why do we have two passes each though?" Tidus asked, puzzled. The man grinned,

"You each get to bring one V.I.P. guest when you go down to Twilight City—someone like a parent." All the band mates made a face at the suggestion, and the man laughed.

"Yes… since summer vacation has just started, I suppose the last thing you'd want is to have them tag along on your big chance, right?" _You don't know the half of it… _Riku thought bitterly as he tucked the passes into the back pocket of his navy jeans. His band mates followed, stowing the passes away.

"That all?" Sora asked with excitement clear on his face. "We're set?" The man nodded cheerfully. Although he did say one thing to startle the group,

"Just make sure you get there in time. You've got to be there in about ten days." Riku raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Kairi—as Riku had expected—spoke instead.

"Wait… we have to get there ourselves?"

"Yes you do… well… where do you all live?" he asked.

"Destinyville," they answered in unison. The man shrugged.

"It's not too far a drive from there. About less than a week with stops I think—you have those passes… maybe your mom or someone could take you there?" The group nodded dully in response. _How old does this guy think we are? _Taking control, Riku told them,

"Hey, don't worry about it—we'll think of something. We'll talk about it during the ride home on the train, okay?"

"Right!" Sora said brightly. Kairi nodded as Tidus also agreed. Turning, they made to leave. That was, however, when standing at the backstage door Riku saw a strange blonde girl.

She was dressed simply, and her blonde hair shone gently like the sun. He could not make out her face though—it was shadowed where she stood, holding a notebook and pen tightly in her 

hands._ Probably a fan that made it past the security._ Behind her however, were screams of fan girls itching to make it through the door as well.

"_Riku, we love you!!"_

"_Tidus, CALL ME!!"_

"_NO! He's MINE!!"_

"_Come back SORA!"_

"_AHHHH!! IT'S KAIRI!! MOM!! Let's get her autograph!!"_

Riku rolled his eyes towards his bandmates, who were humouring the psychotic fans, still ecstatic from winning.

Tidus, in particular, seemed to be enjoying himself.

"We're going to the Nationals!" the blond drummer roared out, pulling his shirt off and swinging it around in victory. The fans responded by soaking him with water and squealing with delight ("Ti-dus! Ti-dus! Ti-dus!" they chanted. "_TAKE IT ALL OFF!_"). Shaking his head, Riku made to leave through the exit that lead straight to the stairs outside. He didn't feel like dealing with signing autographs and picture takings.

Making his way into the bright sunlight outside, Riku decided to simply sit on the stairs that still had some shade from the stage's roof. Plopping down, he didn't even care that the wooden stairs weren't even properly sanded—he'd spent enough nights sitting on his own deck outside his house, by himself. And his Dad hadn't exactly done a wonderful job putting that together either.

He'd never really done a wonderful job at anything. But then, according to his father, neither did Riku really. There was always something he had _just_ messed up; always something he had _just _missed; _just _slipped up on.

_Well at least I didn't mess this one up. _No, he hadn't; they were heading to the _Nationals. Battle of the Bands: Clincher_. Not the most amazing title ever, but it gained enough attention from critics and musicians alike. As for the rest of Riku's state; they could care less. Only those interested in rock actually bothered with this massive competition, because to everyone else it was just another way to fritter away life without actually working hard.

Riku scowled. His father happened to be of that opinion. _Doesn't matter. Once we win the Nationals, I'm outta there, once and for all. _Hearing voices approaching the door, Riku shuffled over beforehand for the people. Beside him approached his best and oldest friend, Sora. The cheerful teenager dropped down beside Riku and grinned.

"Thought you were hiding here," Sora said.

"Had to," Riku grunted. "The swamp of fan girls was starting to suffocate me." Sora laughed.

"Probably. I had to practically fight my way over to find you—the others probably think I'm still following them through the masses of fans."

Riku arched a silver eyebrow at him.

"Isn't Kairi gonna be hounding after you for leaving like that?" Sora's grin shifted to a blank-faced shrug.

"Oh well. I'm sure she'll get over it—Kairi's good like that," he added fondly. A smirk making its way back on his face, Sora then said, "Besides, she's too busy dragging Tidus away from the groupies."

"Pffft… so surprising," Riku replied absently. His eyes had drifted to the clear blue skies above them, vast and endless in its height. Sora remained quiet for a few minutes—_a new record, _Riku thought wryly—before speaking up again.

"Uhh… don't you think we should get to the van? We need to be at the train station pretty soon to catch our ride back home." Riku didn't nod this time, but instead got up. Looking back, he offered a hand to Sora and the 16-year-old took it, jumping to his feet. The usual grin back on his face, Sora made his way at something of a run to the parking lot.

"Hurry up, Riku!" He called teasingly over his shoulder. "We gotta get to the van before the fans do!" In spite of himself, Riku grinned and picked up his pace. The two of them shot towards the parking lot, and when they reached the van, jumped right in. Kairi let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness," she said. "I was beginning to worry that the fans would catch on that we'd left before you guys ever came." Apologetically, Sora wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and pecked her forehead gently.

"Hey come on," he said with a grin, seating himself down and pulling her to sit next to him. "Think I'd ever let a bunch of psychos get to you?" Kairi smiled and snuggled into her boyfriend's arms, resting her head in the crevice of his shoulder.

"'Course not," she mumbled contently. Tidus had settled himself in the far back seat, wearing a very dazed, happy expression. Noting a lack of shirt, open fly, messed up hair and to top it all off, lipstick smears everywhere, Riku rolled his eyes at the drummer.

"Did you get into Kairi's make-up bag again?" he said sarcastically as he smudge some of the lipstick on Tidus' collarbone with his finger. Completely unaware of the implied insult, Tidus pointed to a lipstick kiss on his forehead and goofily said,

"This one's from my mom."

Snorting, Riku nudged Tidus' shoulder before settling himself down in the back as well, giving the couple their space. The driver, who had remained silent finally asked,

"Everyone ready to go?" As a whole, they told him 'yes'. With that, he sped from the parking lot and made his way to the train station.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The train ride had not taken long—it had only been an in-state trip, and the four were now squashed in the back of a downtown taxi. Riku and the now fully-clothed Tidus had taken the sides, while Sora was squashed in the middle, Kairi in his lap. Money hadn't been the issue to get two cabs—it was more because it was rush hour, and they had been lucky to even get _one_.

Rolling down his window, Riku was taking in the fresh air—well, as fresh as downtown air can possibly be—before Kairi said suddenly,

"So how we getting down to Twilight City?" Riku felt Sora's shoulder attempt to move in what he guessed was a shrug-like movement. A slight laugh in his voice, Sora suggested,

"We could go like this." Riku didn't even bother to turn and glare at his younger friend, settling instead for fiercely nudging him.

"Hey!" Sora cried out. The movement had caused Sora to shove up against Tidus –

"Dammit!" Kairi cursed, when she slipped off his lap and collided into the back of the passenger seat. Poor Tidus was left smashed up against his door, cheek pressed against the glass.

"Riku!" Everyone cried out in annoyance from their awkward position. Tidus was courteous enough to add while righting himself,

"Ass-friggin'-hole."

Riku heard the taxi driver cluck his tongue and turn to look at the teens in disapproval.

"You four; behave yourselves—" Tidus snorted.

"Whatever, old man! We're paying you to drive, not baby-sit!" the blond snapped, helping Kairi adjust herself back into Sora's lap. Sora wrapped his arms around the pouting girl and kissed her jaw line, as if she had been damaged by the fall. Tidus was still glaring at the driver. Shaking his head, Riku sometimes wondered how such a cheerful fellow could become so cocky at times. But then, they had become friends with him a year ago when he had used that said cockiness to stick up for Riku.

Some punk had started making fun of him for sitting on a park bench with his headphones on and writing lyrics to songs, as he always did in his spare time. Called him a hippie, writing poems 

and strumming a guitar. Useless. Lazy. _Sounds like good old Dad…_ But Tidus had been there, and made it his business, defending Riku while Riku himself had simply ignored the stupid kid.

Not that Riku needed anyone to stick up for him—but all the same, the sentiment had been nice.

That was when they had discovered he played drums, and Riku offered him a place in the band. Riku had been teaching himself guitar since he was young, and could sing rather well. Sora had picked up bass when his best friend took guitar, the two thinking they could start a band. Then Sora had met Kairi, who had just moved into the town a few years ago. She played piano very well, but was able to shift the skills over to keyboard. She, with Tidus' help, could mix songs rather well, too. After joining the band, Kairi and Sora had moved their relationship from friendship to dating soon after.

Riku didn't particularly care—he was happy for Sora, and as long as the two stayed focused on the music during practice there was nothing wrong with them dating. _Sora staying on track… ha. _Fondly, Riku turned back to look at his band.

While he had been strolling down memory lane, they had been discussing travel plans.

"So… what've we decided?" Riku asked softly. Tidus beamed and said perkily,

"We're gonna be taking my new convertible out and drive on down now that me and you have our licenses."

Riku smirked, trying not to roll his eyes at the juvenile yet playful fantasy. Cocking an eyebrow, he began,

"So that means we're going on a—"

"—_ROAD TRIP!_" Sora, Kairi and Tidus cheered.

In the front, the taxi driver cringed at the loud voices but said nothing. Internally laughing at his friends' excitement, Riku turned back to the window and eventually allowed his mind to wander as usual.

Once they reached their upper-middle class neighborhood, the taxi driver began dropping them off one by one with their suitcases from the back. As Riku—being the first—got out of the car, Sora called out,

"Riku—pack your bags and come over to Tidus's house right away! We're gonna stay at his house for the night! We leave tomorrow!"

Riku nodded, and then remembered something. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out one of his passes and tossed it inside the taxi to his friends. Answering the puzzled faces, Riku gave half a smirk and reminded them,

"Who would I take?" Sora in particular locked eyes with Riku, and nodded grimly in understanding. Though the whole band had an idea of Riku's _delicate _relationship with his father—his only guardian since his mother had passed away—none of them knew to the extent that Sora did.

Grabbing his bags from the back trunk, Riku made for inside his house. Damn. He didn't particularly look forward to telling his father he would be away for a good while because of _Light in Darkness._

* * *

**A/N: **Yay, first chapter done and up! The lyrics I wrote myself though, and I'll be writing all the lyrics in this fic... don't hate me. :P I hope you guys liked it! Make sure to leave a review and tell me if you think it's worth continuing… thanks! ;)

XX-diamonds-XX


	2. Goodbyes and Welcomes

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Thanks to those of you that read/reviewed the first chapter! Also, I didn't realize before but now anonymous reviewers can leave their reviews as well now. Whoops. I fixed that, so now you all can review! hint hint

**Summary:** AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to Square-Enix and Disney, except for the band name. That was my oh-so-creative name, I know. :p

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Two: _Goodbyes and Welcomes

* * *

Riku ran a hand through his silver hair as he studied his belongings. He was sure he had gotten everything he needed… guitar (check)… clothes and whatnot (check)… his music sheets… his mp3… and last but not least, his books. No matter where he went, Riku made sure to bring his favourites with him to keep him occupied.

Knowing that Tidus was outside waiting in his car for Riku, he quickly zipped up his suitcase and picked up his guitar case. As he did so, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach; he still had to tell his dad that he was leaving.

Riku glanced down the hall and saw the light in his father's study was on; he figured now would be the time to put his stuff into Tidus's car. That way, in case things got a little… _hectic_, with his father, there wouldn't be anything stopping a mad dash. Not that Riku ever ran away from anything – no way, buddy. Nuh-uh.

Slipping as discreetly as possible out the front door, Riku saw Tidus' car parked in front his house. The top of his convertible was down, so Tidus waved him over.

"Hey! About time, dude. I thought I was going to have to have the sleepover in my car! Yeesh," Tidus commented. "Let's go already." Riku rolled his eyes, as he set his stuff in the back seat. He then leaned over the door of the passenger side and said,

"Well, you're going to have wait just a bit longer. I gotta go do something."

Tidus blanked. "Whatever man. Make it quick." Riku said nothing in return and re-entered the house.

His father looked up when he entered the study. "There you are, boy. I thought you were fiddling around with your _guitar_ again." Riku scowled at the emphasis, staring coldly at his father. "Don't look at me like that – I need your help with this order for motor boats, so if you could just…" he trailed off when he saw the stoic expression on Riku's face. "What?" his father demanded.

The 17-year-old didn't how to start, so he went straight to the point. Feeling the stony mask on his face crack slightly, Riku replied as firmly as he could,

"I… uh… I'll be gone for a while. Two weeks maybe – I don't know. I'll be with my friends, and we're going to… Twilight City."

His father dead panned. It was a while before his father chose to respond. Riku stood staring his father down, hands jammed in his pockets.

His father huffed, his voice dangerously quiet. "Whaddya mean you're going to _Twilight_ City?"

"I _mean_," Riku pressed on defiantly, "we are _going_ to _Twilight City._" He turned his back.

"Dammit, Riku! You're just _leaving_? You have responsibilities _here_! What kind of man are you?"

Riku turned back around and looked hard at him. "Dad—I _want_ this. I've been waiting for this," Riku stressed, aquamarine eyes glinting slightly. If his dad would just _get _it, if he'd just…

His father snorted.

"Your music ain't going to get you anywhere, boy; it's childish and useless, not to mention unsteady. When are you going to smarten up? Get into a steady business like your old man, and make a decent living," his father blazed. "Think whatever you want. But it's never gonna happen. So you can just sit your sorry ass here and help me with the new orders I got. _Stay_."

Riku's eyes were livid. After that, and his father still had the nerve to keep him locked up in this place? Bastard. Like hell that was going to happen.

He turned back around and said over his shoulder,

"Not happening. It's set; I'm going. Take care of your own business." And with that, Riku headed out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Practically dancing to her radio, Kairi continued to throw everything into her suitcase that she was bringing with her. Shirts, skirts, pants, make up, cosmetics, necklaces, earrings, the perfume that Sora had gotten her for their 2nd anniversary, magazines, a few books, deodorant, nail polish (assorted colours, of course), photos of her family, her sister Naminé's framed sketch of their band "logo"…

…_Twilight City… holy crap, after all this…_Excitement racing through her, Kairi barely noticed when Naminé slipped into the room.

"Hey Kai… before you left, I just…" Kairi's blond haired, 15-year-old sister fiddled with the silky fabric of her simple white dress. Moving to her bed, the girl sat down and beamed up at her older sister. Kairi frowned and sank down on the bed next to her.

"What's up?" Kairi asked, rubbing Naminé's forearm affectionately. Her younger sister was so sensitive sometimes, honestly. She needed to toughen up, like Kairi. Not let no man get in her way, nuh-uh. Kairi realized she had stopped paying attention to Naminé. Looking deeply at her, Kairi asked, "You're upset because I'm leaving, right?" Naminé looked up quickly, blue eyes widening with surprise and guilt.

"No! I'm happy for you!" she exclaimed, one hand tightening its grip on Kairi's bedsheet. "You guys were awesome at the State Finals—_LiD _deserves to go!" Naminé, along with Kairi's parents had traveled to the State Finals to watch their daughter perform.

They had managed to make it back sooner then _LiD_ though; they hadn't been stuck in one taxi during downtown rush hour. Sora's and Tidus' families had also come, cheering them on. Only Riku's father did not bother to show up. _Then again_, Kairi thought with a grimace, _it's not like anyone had their hopes up_.

"It's just…" Naminé shrugged, and then gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I guess I am gonna miss you. Doesn't mean you shouldn't go though, sis!" Kairi smiled sadly at her younger sister.

Despite the cheerful exterior, Kairi knew deep down in Naminé's heart there was still a lingering sadness from the previous school year. Dropping her gaze, Kairi's eyes wondered to a portrait hanging on her wall Naminé had painted of her.

_She's such an amazing artist… but all she does is sit around and play her flute and draw her pictures… she can't even do that lately either. She's been way too upset to draw, she doesn't go outside to try and cheer herself up…_ Sighing, Kairi asked Naminé,

"So what are you gonna do for the summer then?"

"Nothing much. Try and get back to drawing some more, maybe get a head start on those essays Professor Xenahort assigned…"

"You have _homework_ already?" Kairi gaped, flabbergasted. Naminé went to the most prestigious art school in the nation over the school year—The Radiant Garden Academy for Fine Arts—and that was also why Kairi rarely saw her sister. Radiant Garden was a year round boarding school, with students only coming home for winter holidays, spring break and the summer.Before students were let out for this summer though, their dedicated Headmaster, Ansem the Wise, had passed away. Ever since she had come home, Naminé had been even quieter and more reserved than usual. Kairi, being female and thus containing an emotional capacity (in Kairi's opinion, anyways, except for Sora), had let her sister mourn in peace.

Kairi knew that Naminé had respected and cared about her former Headmaster very much, and with his passing he had taken some of Naminé's artistic soul. Naminé wouldn't admit it and barely talked about it, but Kairi could tell. It was that capacity thing kicking in again.

_She doesn't have any friends around home…they're all at the boarding school. _Mostly Naminé would hang around at home painting and playing flute; go to the theatre where she volunteered as an usher; meet up with her "quartet"—unofficial and they only did it when they felt like it—and perform at local business parties, gazeboes and open jazz nights. _Sorta like me and the band…_ Kairi grinned.

An idea had just occurred to her.

"Hey… how would you like a more interesting way to spend your summer?" She asked, a playful smile on her face. Naminé asked her outgoing sister warily,

"What do you mean, _interesting_?"

"Come with us!"

"_What_? With you guys?"

"Yeah! To the Nationals! Come on!"

"I don't know…"

"It'll be so much fun! We're going on an awesome road trip down and then we're gonna get to stay in a five-star hotel suite and perform live on TV at the Nationals and you _have_ to be there!"

"Whoa… Kai… slow down…"

"Aww! Come on! The guys won't mind—I'm sure! And besides, we all got an extra VIP pass for one guest to come along!" She really wanted Naminé to come. Of course, she knew that Naminé could eventually come down with their parents, but Kairi shook her head internally. She wanted Naminé to come earlier. This way, Naminé could get out and maybe forget about the sorrow of Ansem's passing. Plus it might be that extra boost of self-confidence her younger sister so sorely lacked. In a last ditch attempt, Kairi burst out,

"At least do it for _my_ sake. There's no way I'm gonna survive two weeks surrounded by only guys… I'll go insane! Please? Come—for your big sis?" Kairi pouted, and Naminé laughed, chucking a pillow at her older sister.

"Okay, okay, you win. I'll come—but… only if it's okay with the rest of your band." Kairi nodded happily, and went back to packing. Her band would be absolutely, positively, happy about it._ I'll make sure_, she thought as she picked up her cell phone, smirking.

Before making the call, she shooed Naminé out of her room, and closed the door.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Shaking his head, Sora picked up his cell phone after reading Kairi's name on the display. Flipping it open and putting it to his ear, he winced slightly when he heard the extra sugary-sweetness of her voice. _She wants something, I know it. _

"Hey Sora!" She cooed. "How've you been?"

"Umm… the same as I was about an hour ago when you saw me get out of the car…"

"Right!" Kairi answered, not sounding particularly fazed. "Anyways, I was thinking… you know those _passes_ we got?"

"Uh huh…"

"Well, you want me to be happy and like, get all the support I need for this, right?"

"Of course!" Sora replied quickly. Worry set in—_is she sick? Is something wrong with her? Wait… how come I can't support her? Aren't I enough? Isn't she happy now that the band's won? _Pausing for a minute, Sora realized she had gotten him right where she wanted him—in a self-doubting panic. He heard Kairi speak again.

"Well…"

"What is it, Kai?"

"… I was just _wondering…_"

"… Yes…?"

"If_ maybe_… my sister could have my extra pass?" Sora cocked an eyebrow though he knew his girlfriend could not see him. _Why do I need to know that…?_

"… And…?" Sora prompted, knowing there was more to come. _Wait, wait—she's hinting at something. She wouldn't have told me this unless—_

"It's going to be hard for her to get to Twilight City though… parents won't be able to… so what should we do?" asked Kairi, sounding very much like she knew exactly what to do. Sora's suspicions were confirmed, and with a grin he replied,

"Hey! I know! She could come along with us! Tidus has an extra seat in his car, so why not? Tidus is a great guy, he won't mind—and Riku just doesn't care either way… so, what do you think?"

"That's a great idea Sora! You're so brilliant! You always keep me happy—I love you!" She cried out, managing to fake her surprise quite well in Sora's opinion. "I'll bring her to the sleep over, and you go tell the other guys, okay?" Sora told her he would, and then hung up, flipping shut his phone.

Swinging his legs up so he was lying on the couch, he saw Riku and Tidus come in through the front door with Riku's stuff. Dropping Riku's bags in the front hall, Tidus raised an eyebrow at Sora as Riku sorted through some of his things.

"What is it?"

Sora's grin broadened. He was still extremely proud of himself for having figured out what his girlfriend had wanted—he was definitely getting better. Women could be so complicated sometimes though—Sora didn't get why Kairi hadn't just come out right and ask.

"Kairi's bringing Naminé along; and she wanted to know if it was cool with us," Sora replied. "I told her it was fine." Tidus laughed and shook his head as he asked,

"Naminé? Who's that?" Sora replied,

"Kairi's little sister."

"Little sister? _What_? I don't wanna do no baby-sitting—"

"Relax; she's only a year younger then Kairi." Tidus raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? Only a year… interesting… so she's fifteen..." Sora rolled his eyes and continued,

"_Any_ways, you haven't met her 'cause she's at some fancy-art-boarding school all year—she's only home during the summers really."

"Why haven't we met her then?"

"Eh, she's a homebody. I'm over at Kairi's a lot though, so I've seen her every now and then. She's all right." Tidus smirked.

"The more the merrier." Sora laughed, and looked expectantly at Riku who had gotten what he had searched for—a thick, paper back novel. Few outside the band knew it, but Riku could be quite the book worm when he had the time.

"Whatever," Riku said, shrugging casually, entering the living room. He hadn't seen her in quite some time either—he could barely remember what she looked like. "As long as she doesn't make any trouble, I couldn't care less." He dropped down on the single couch beside Sora's, pushed his headphones on, and flipped open his book. Sora frowned at the indifferent response.

Sure, Riku was always in his own little world, but that was even more blunt than usual. Sitting up, Sora put a hand on one of Riku's shoulders—earning a glare from his year older friend. Sora frowned down in concern. Seeing the question on Sora's face, Riku slid off his headphones and replied,

"It's nothing, okay? Dad just wasn't too happy that I was leaving, no surprise." Sora tried to grin optimistically.

"Well… at least maybe he cares, right?" Riku snorted, dropping his gaze.

"He cares all right. Cares 'cause I'm not doing whatever the hell _he_ wants." Pushing Sora's hands away, Riku leaned back in the couch and slipped his headphones back on, attention shifting back to his novel.

Grimacing, Sora moved away and sat back, flipping on the TV. Tidus was about to join when suddenly the doorbell rang. He answered it, and there was Kairi and her sister Naminé.

Sora saw Tidus's shocked look when he saw the blonde girl next to her auburn haired sister. Jumping up from the couch, Sora kissed Kairi, and proceeded to hug Naminé in a friendly fashion.

"Naminé!" he said as he pulled away from their hug. "How've you been?" She smiled politely and mumbled something about "being fine" while looking at the floor. Sora grinned and grabbed Kairi's bag for her, as she waved good-bye to her parents who had dropped them off.

Tidus followed suit, picking up Naminé's bags as he made light chatter to break the ice. Sora saw the girl smiling and answering politely as Tidus took her bags and moved them to where Riku's and Sora's already were.

Naminé followed Tidus equally in awe; this was the first time she had met him. Sora chuckled to himself—he wouldn't be surprised if Naminé developed a little crush on the outgoing flirt of Tidus. It'd only do her good, to be around someone who was more of an extrovert than she was. Sharing a significant smile with Kairi, Sora was certain she was thinking the same thing.

_I really am getting better at this whole women thing…_

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Pushing a blonde strand behind her face, Naminé thanked Tidus for carrying all of her stuff and then proceeded to follow him into the living room. Tidus continued on in his friendly, slightly flirty banter.

"… So yeah, I think we should be there in just a few days, I mean we can make a few stops along the way… I mean, we have to—" Tidus laughed here and flipped her a wink "—a young lady like yourself has _got_ to need beauty sleep to look that good, right?" Naminé felt her face heat up, making Tidus laugh.

Naminé could see her sister, who was sitting on the couch next to her boyfriend, roll her eyes.

"Don't mind him, Naminé," Kairi called out. "He's a charmer but a lazy ass." Tidus grinned cheekily and plopped down on an empty sofa. No other spots being available, Naminé sat down carefully next to Tidus.

Turning to her right, it was then that she saw him.

He probably didn't see her, because his headphones were clamped around his head and a thick book was in his lap, which he read intently. One leg hung over the arm rest, a picture of solitude.

His silver hair fell down in wisps, and he occasionally shook them out of his way. It brushed just to his shoulders and was wild and raggedly cut—but not unpleasantly so. His eyes were aquamarine orbs, shining fiercely even though indifference was written all over him. He was wearing dark, somewhat 

baggy navy jeans with a leather black belt that held them securely to his waist, but still let them sag slightly and shaped around his legs. On his chest was a sleeveless, white shirt, simple but it complimented his toned arms. The only accessories he had was a chain on his belt; a few thin necklaces and a wristband that Kairi had given the band a while ago, with their individual names on the inside and _LiD_ on the outside.

He was… different. _Is this… it has to be… Riku? It's been so long_… In spite of herself, Naminé continued to stare, half curious, half because she could not take her eyes away from him. He seemed to notice though.

Eyes shifting up with a slightly raised head, Riku arched an eyebrow almost lazily at her, as if asking, _"What?"_ Naminé fought a blush and quickly looked away—_Staring is rude, _she reminded herself.

Chancing another glance at him, she saw that he was still watching her, one eyebrow still raised.

"Hi?" he asked quietly, giving her a funny look. Naminé nodded quickly in response and looked away again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Riku shrug and go back to his book. _You_ nodded_? What kind of greeting is that to someone you haven't seen in almost half a decade? _

Realizing she couldn't stay away for long, Naminé slowly cocked her head sideways so she could just see him out of the corner of her eye._He wouldn't have heard you anyways, with those headphones. _Watching him for a few more moments, Naminé turned to the other three members of _LiD_.

Tidus, Sora and Kairi had their eyes glued to the screen—some show that made fun of mainstream celebrities was on… Naminé would watch, but she never bothered to keep up with mainstream. Her painting and flute were far more important to her.

Pretty soon, time had passed and they ordered pizza for dinner. Well, _tried_ to anyways. They probably should have decided before Kairi picked up the phone to make the call. Kairi had asked, "Is Tropical okay?"

"No way am I having fruits on pizza," Sora argued.

"Hey! I like fruits! But tell them to add pepperoni as well!" Tidus burst out.

"Hey wait—I'm a vegetarian…" Naminé said softly.

"Then we'll get half cheese, half supreme," Riku suggested.

"Who said anything about supreme? I hate olives!" Kairi snapped, still clutching the phone face down to her chest.

"Pick the olives off then!" Riku said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"_You_ pick the olives off!" Tidus retorted pointlessly. Riku dead panned.

"That didn't make any sense. I like olives."

"Whatever!"

"_Guys_… this is stupid... " Naminé began.

"Let's just get cheese, how about that?"

"Dammit, I want meat! I'm a growing boy; I need it!" Tidus responded.

"Ha! You're never gonna grow up Tidus, so what's the point?" Kairi said.

"If you want meat, then what's wrong with Tropical?" Riku said.

"_Nothing._But I want pepperoni as well! I _love_ pepperoni!"

"Eww! No fruit! That's gross! I only want cheese on my pizza!" Sora said.

"_That's it!_" Kairi called out. Putting the phone back to her ear, she dictated that they wanted two mediums, one with half vegetarian, half cheese, and the other one with half tropical and half pepperoni.

That kept everyone happy, though Tidus would have to eat from two different pizzas to get his pepperoni and Riku gave up meat to just have veggie as well. Some time later, the pizza boy came and dropped off the pizzas, with Tidus ending up being the one to pay.

Once the five had sufficiently stuffed their faces with greasy, hot pizza, they all got ready for bed. Tidus's living room was more than large enough for them to roll out their sleeping bags in, and Tidus's parents still had not returned from the State finals. Tidus's dad had wanted to spend an extra day in their hotel to go sight-seeing.

All dressed in their pyjamas, they now sat around on their sleeping bags—save Riku, who was already lying in his, "asleep"—and were chatting excitedly about the upcoming finals.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Kairi squealed, earning a tight hug from her boyfriend. Tidus laughed,

"As long as we don't make too many pit stops along the way. We need to get to Twilight City in time to enjoy it too!" Kairi nodded in agreement,

"We'll leave tomorrow and eat breakfast on the way, then stop at a diner or something for lunch. That way, you can fuel up and do whatever to your car to get us there faster."

"Not too fast though," Sora joked. "Riku's already a speed demon on the road; we'll be lucky if we only get pulled over once or twice." Naminé, who was sitting in front of Riku's "sleeping" body, felt him twist around slightly.

A pillow flew from Riku's hand, just missing Sora. Instead, Kairi became the target.

"Hey!" Kairi called out. Leaping to her feet, Kairi grabbed the pillow and towered over Riku. Naminé quickly scrambled out of the way—she had been in enough pillow fights with her sister to know what she was capable of.

Naminé couldn't help but feel a bit pleased to see Riku flip around on his back, pushing himself to a sitting position.

"It was an accident?" He offered in a mock-innocent voice, one eyebrow raised again. Kairi smirked, and before the silver haired boy knew what was happening, the pillow had smacked him hard in the face.

Toppling backwards, Riku laughed and tried grabbing the pillow from Kairi, but to no avail. The red-head continued to ruthlessly beat him, so he threw his arms up in defense despite his laughter.

"Kairi—grow—up—serious—ly," he choked out between smacks and laughs. Finally, Riku was able to roll away from the onslaught of attacks and grab another pillow. Quickly, he started smacking the still-standing Kairi's legs. Laughing, she collapsed, and Riku was able to pretend to suffocate the girl with the pillow over her face.

"Don't tell me you're giving up already!" he called out over Kairi's laughing and thrashing about. Sora grinned at his friend's playful mood and leaping gallantly to his feet he called out,

"Fair lady! Dammit Riku, leave her I say!" But as he made his way to the two, he tripped over the cross-legged Tidus and landed smack over Naminé.

"Hey!" Naminé called out, struggling out from under Sora. She too grabbed her pillow within reach, and started beating Sora. "Get off!"

Sora laughed, but was quickly toppled over by Naminé and she continued pounding him with the pillow. Tidus quickly joined in, running to Sora's aid, but not before sharing a quick grin with Naminé. Naminé laughed when Tidus too began to beat Sora with his own pillow.

"Tidus!" Sora cried out. "You should stick by your friends, stupid!"

"Sorry buddy, I'm taking the winning side!" Tidus replied, as Sora rolled away and right smack into Riku. Groaning, Riku shoved Sora playfully. Kairi, Naminé and Tidus used this as a chance to gang up on the two, surrounding them.

Eventually the three dog-piled on top of the two boys, using their pillows to beat them over their heads.

"Okay, okay! Mercy!" Sora cried out, voice muffled through the onslaught.

"Yeah, give it up already!" Riku added, struggling to get up. Naminé, however, noticed the quick exchange of smirks between the two friends. Just as the trio of attackers began to slow down the attacks, Sora and Riku each grabbed one of Kairi's feet, and took their revenge.

"Stop that!" Kairi gasped out in laughter. "That's—that's not fair guys!" Attempting to kick her feet away from the two, Kairi toppled over from the top of the dog pile. Sora and Riku used the moment to push themselves up from underneath, sending Naminé and Tidus flying.

Tidus was the first to recover, and throwing a glance around he jumped to his feet. In a shift of alliances, he began beating the two girls with his pillows.

"Come on guys! Let's get 'em!"

Sora and Riku, however, were lounging on their sleeping bags, watching the now corrupted trio.

"Guys? Eh?" Stopping, he turned to look at the two guys. Kairi and Naminé jumped up, and tackled Tidus to the ground.

"Fine, you win!" he called out in defeat. "I give in, I give in…" Exhausted but still laughing, the three made their ways to the sleeping bags.

Finally stifling their laughter, the five managed to fall asleep. Contently, Naminé snuggled under her sleeping bag.

_Maybe a road trip with these guys won't be so bad after all._

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was even more fun to write than the last one. Really random scenes, woot! Anyways, leave a review if you want more chapters! Much love,

XX-diamonds-XX


	3. Of Rude Awakenings and Rotini

**A/N:** Thank you to those who reviewed!

Okay, I changed the genre because I thought humour was more fitting for this fic. There'll still be drama but overall like there's gonna be a lot more like stupid moments lol. Anyways please read on now before I keep talking for ever!

Oh, and just for references' sake: 10 munny equals about a dollar in conversion or whatever.

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to Square-Enix and Disney, except for the band name. That was my oh-so-creative name, I know. :p

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Three:_ Of Rude Awakenings & Rotini

* * *

The sleeping bag was sodden with sweat when Naminé awoke. Struggling to climb out of it, she felt the rubbery, squishy fabric peel off of her skin. _Ugh…_ she wasn't used to sleeping in these things.

Naminé crawled to her feet, to see that everyone's – save Sora's – sleeping bags were still occupied. Moving around them, she went into the kitchen – not before stealing a glance at the slumbering Riku, however. Inside the kitchen, she saw Sora bustling about.

His brown hair was spiked up and madly as usual, and his blue eyes were twinkling gently even first thing in the morning. _Never seen that light of his die out. _Out of everyone in the band, Sora had always been the cheeriest, and rarely did his optimism fade. Full of life and energy, he always had been a joy just to be around.

He was wearing rusty red cargo three quarter-lengths this morning and a tan and beige tie-dyed T-shirt. Around his neck was the usual silver chain with the crown pendant and he wore _LiD's _wristband along with a few hemp bracelets embroidered with wooden beads.

"Hey Sora," Naminé said cheerfully. Turning to her, Sora grinned and motioned for her to come in farther.

"Hey Naminé, I was just putting breakfast together. Doesn't matter though, there'll never be enough."

"Enough food?" Naminé asked, puzzled.

Sora joked, "Naw, not enough room in the car. Don't tell her I said so, but your sister eats like a chocobo." He laughed while flipping a piece of bacon on the pan.

Still laughing, she began helping Sora to pack breakfast for the morning ride. After about ten minutes, they had decided: four apples and an orange (Kairi said citrus was better for her skin), five milk cartons, some bacon in a heated container, five muffins and a cheese omelet for Naminé. Just as they had finished cooking her omelet, Kairi and Riku entered the kitchen as well.

"What smells so good?" Riku asked groggily, rubbing his face. "Can we eat some?" Sora rolled his bright blue eyes and said,

"No; it's all mine. Now get your ass upstairs and get ready, buddy."

"Awww…" Kairi mumbled, as she left the kitchen.

"Tubby," Riku muttered, following Kairi. Sora made a face at Riku's back, then turned to Naminé and said,

"Thanks for the help, but you should get ready too." Naminé nodded and began to leave as Sora added behind her, "Oh—and could you wake Tidus up? He sleeps more then Kairi eats!"

"I heard that!" Kairi's voice called from the stairway. Sora flipped a wink at Naminé before turning back to finishing packing the food. He called back,

"Sorry babe, just trying to keep you on top!" They heard Kairi huff in response.

Giggling again, Naminé made her way back to the living room. _Sora really knows how to brighten up a day… Kairi's lucky to have a guy like him._ In the living room, Tidus was sprawled out on top of his sleeping bag with limbs spread in every direction, snoring gently. Crouching over, Naminé prodded Tidus' chest with one finger. Nothing.

She prodded again, coming a bit closer.

"Tidus… hey… wake up… " She said. Tidus mumbled something and shuffled over, turning on his side. She didn't see it coming, but suddenly his arm was around her waist in an awkward hug. He was a lot stronger than she was, so she was quickly dragged down with Tidus cuddled up next to her. Laughing nervously, she squealed,

"Hey! Tidus! Cut it out!" His arm was an iron bar though over her, and she couldn't get up. Instead she started punching his arm fruitlessly.

"Get off of me!" she laughed, masking how uncomfortable she was. Tidus grinned, but his eyes were still closed in "sleep".

"But I'm so comfy!" he complained. Naminé smacked his arm extra hard.

"_I'm_ not! I'm suffocating!" It was true—his arm was heavy on her petite form.

"Way to make the girl feel welcome," a voice smirked from over them. Suddenly, Tidus yelped in pain and sprung off of her instantly.

"Hey man, what was that for!" Tidus called out. Riku had just walked past, and Naminé saw him roll his eyes. Her cheeks stung from embarrassment.

"Asshole… kicking me…" Tidus mumbled, getting to his feet while rubbing his back. From the kitchen, Riku called out,

"Force is better than persuasion at waking Tidus up, Naminé." Feeling ridiculous and fighting down her blush, Naminé struggled to her feet. _He spared me some embarrassment by making me even _more_ embarrassed. Wonderful. _She grabbed some clothes from her bag and went upstairs, seeing her older sister in one of Tidus' many bedrooms.

Quickly, she showered and changed into her new clothes. She had decided on wearing a lime green sundress, printed with cheery pink and yellow flowers. In her hair, she clipped it to the side and also wore a yellow flower barrette. Not one for jewelry, she wore only a beaded crystal pink necklace she'd received from a friend from the Academy.

She had to admit, she was quite nervous with going on this trip. _This isn't my band, these aren't really my friends… _sure, Tidus liked to flirt, and Sora had never had a problem with her, but still… _what about Riku? Does he mind that I'm coming along at all? _Of course not, she told herself. _Riku doesn't care at all. _She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed with that thought. But at least he wasn't being rude to her or anything.

_Kairi wouldn't have let me come along if the group had complained. Right? _Naminé couldn't stop feeling of doubt nestle in the back of her mind. _How would I know? She did kick me out of the room… _

Naminé sighed. She hated this so much—she wanted to go on this trip because she had seen how much fun these guys could be, but she didn't want to feel like a burden or something. _But Kairi _said _it's okay. She said so. _Shaking her head, Naminé tried to get rid of the troubling thoughts and left the room.

Coming out of the house, Naminé made her way to the car. There, the rest of the group was gathered, all waiting for their keyboardist. _Kairi always takes forever to get ready, but she doesn't even take care of her outfit once she's dressed. _Naminé shook her head fondly.

The guys had already thrown their stuff in the back trunk, and Sora had come up to take Naminé's bags from her hand. Tidus beat her to it though, and took her stuff to the back trunk, claiming,

"In apology." Naminé smiled softly, and moved to sit in the convertible. It was a nice car—deep blue and with black leather interior. It had a full stereo system, AC, heating and plenty of legroom. Naminé didn't need to guess what that was for.

Tidus was behind the driver's wheel, and Riku had taken the passenger seat. Tidus was drumming invisible sticks to the beat of the music that was roaring. Upon turning in his seat to face Riku, Tidus stopped his "drumming" and knocked on the daydreaming Riku's head with his fists.

"Knock knock," Tidus taunted, wearing a stupid grin. Riku ignored the other 17-year-old, swatting away his hands. From behind though, Sora grinned devilishly and declared,

"I guess nobody's home!" And proceeded to head-lock Riku, using the other hand to give him a vigorous noogie. Taking advantage of the moment, Tidus began poking Riku in the stomach repeatedly calling out "ding, dong, ding, dong" purely to annoy their friend.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Riku yelled, not able to keep the laugh from his voice.

Sora laughed, "Who's tubby now? _Huh_?" Naminé didn't know if she should run and get help or stay and pretend she didn't exist.

However, she saw Riku's free arm fly up and grab a firm hold of the front of Sora's shirt. Using his strength and the leverage of being in the front seat, Riku tilted Sora so far that he flipped over the seat—

"Whoa!" Sora cried out—

—landing smack with his legs in Tidus's lap and his head in Riku's lap (which Riku promptly shoved so it was hanging in the foot area). There was a pause.

"Dude, nice. I so didn't see that coming," Sora said to Riku, sounding like his nose was plugged because he was hanging upside down. The three started laughing madly. _Boys are absolutely insane! _

A man appeared at the front window of the house next door to Tidus'.

"Turn off that blasted music, you hoodlums! And that noise—it's 7 am in the morning!" he called out. To which Tidus promptly retorted with an—

"Up yours, _grandpa_!"

Naminé buried her face in her hands, wishing she could sink into the seat. She had retreated far enough into it. From the front, she could hear the three snickering, and from their positions, the boys managed an awkward exchange of high fives. Riku, laughing, even said to Tidus,

"Nice, man. Nice."

Peeking out from behind her fingers, she saw the old man shake a fist at the group of teenagers and go back inside. Face still burning, Naminé re-adjusted herself in her seat.

Sora had been in the seat behind Riku—at the moment he was still upside in the front, laughing hysterically for no particular reason ("I think the blood rush is getting to him," Tidus noted idly as he and Riku pulled him upright)—and Naminé was sitting behind Tidus.

Finally, the two boys pulled Sora up, whose face was indeed very red from all of the blood that had rushed to it. He still had a goofy grin on his face, and looked somewhat high in Naminé's opinion. With some help, Sora wobbled into his back seat.

While waiting, the four used the extra middle seat to begin eating breakfast.

"Damn Sora, I knew you were lame, but your cooking? It's almost too good to be true," Riku teased as he finished off the last of his bacon. Sora grinned cheekily and replied promptly,

"Eh, women love a man who can cook. Not that you would know, of course." Riku scowled but said nothing.

That was when Kairi came running out of the house at top speed, yelling an apology. With a piece of toast hanging from her mouth. Sora turned briefly, grinning, and raised his eyebrows significantly at Naminé as if he was saying, _see_?

_Being away at school all the time has made me forget all these things. _Though many considered her to be an observant one, she had to admit—Sora wasn't nearly as blind as he came off as.

Naminé quickly started packing away breakfast—taking a few things out for Kairi—and handed Kairi the bags once she arrived.

"Sorry I'm so late ohmigosh I didn't even notice I had to change and do my make up and ohmigosh…" With that, the girl came to a quick halt in front of the back trunk. She chucked her bags in along with the food bag, and putting on arm on the back trunk, Kairi swung into the car, landing in the middle seat.

"'Bout time," Tidus grumbled. Kairi rolled her eyes, and Sora swung one arm up on the seat over Kairi.

"No worries man, come on, let's just get going!" Sora called out. Kairi smiled gratefully and snuggled in closely under. She turned to her younger sister and asked,

"Please tell me that food is for me." Naminé smiled and handed the food over. Kairi grinned and proceeded to stuff her face with her share of the breakfast.

"Don't get anything on the seats," Tidus warned as he revved up the car.

"Yeah, yeah just get going already," Kairi retorted, taking a swig of her milk carton. Sora and Naminé were given the wonderful task of holding everything that would not fit in her lap so it would not spill.

Smoothly, the convertible began to pull out of the driveway, and began racing along the neighborhood roads. Naminé watched the houses get eaten up by the rapidly enveloping sky, and they all became mixed up and distorted as they pulled into more mainstream roads. Watching it fly by, it reminded her of what her palette would look like after a particularly difficult painting.

Ansem had always told her the messier the artist's palette, the more original the work. A horrible ache began eating at her the moment she thought of Ansem the Wise though, and quickly she pushed the memories away. _He's gone. He's never going to be teaching you art again. _

Still though. Trying to not think about her former teacher was the worst thing to do.

After a few hours, they were on the freeway and making their way to a roadside diner for lunch. They spotted a small plaza in the distance. They got out of their car once they reached Luigi's—an Italian diner that was relatively empty at the time.

The five found an empty table by the window, and pulled up another chair to seat them.

"So what are we gonna order?" Sora asked. The whole group shot him an incredulous expression.

"We are _not _going through that again," Kairi snapped, rolling her eyes. "Everyone just order their own thing, okay?" The group nodded in response and scanned their menus.

There was nothing vegetarian on the menu, so Naminé put down the menu relatively quickly. _Ah well. I'm sure there's something I packed that I can eat. _When the waitress came around, she asked them all,

"Will you be ordering then?"

She was a young woman, maybe in her early twenties with pretty green eyes and ash blonde hair. Once he saw her, Tidus leaned back in his seat and nodded at her, smirking lightly and said,

"I'll order something all right, but only because it means someone as gorgeous as yourself will be coming around again." The woman gave him a mischievous smile back,

"I've gone a few around a few times."

"You must have—looking at you makes me dizzy… gonna catch me?"

"I'll catch whatever you have."

"A_hem_," Kairi interrupted their flirting, and shot Tidus a death glare. The woman gave a start and asked quickly,

"What are you gonna have?"

_He's quite the flirt… that almost sounds like something… something he'd say to me. _That was when she realized it: Tidus wasn't actually interested, he was simply, well, flirting. Flirting for the hell of it, because it was fun and an interesting way to pass the time. _Thank goodness… I thought he actually liked me! _She supposed, now, it would be a lot less awkward the next time they held a conversation.

"Lasagna with extra mozzarella cheese," Kairi said.

"Same with me," Tidus added. Sora told her,

"Umm… can I get those twirly noodle things? You know: their kinda thick and like, served with vegetables and spices and those funny little bread doo-dads? And that weird cheese on top? The hard cheese?"

"Er… certainly…" the waitress replied, jotting it down.

"Yo thanks," Sora said breezily, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

The rest of the group struggled to stifle their laughter, but then the waitress turned to Riku.

"Spaghetti and extra spicy meatballs," he told her. "Please," he added as an afterthought. The waitress asked Naminé, and she replied,

"Oh, just a drink of soda would be fine." Riku, who was sitting across from her, gave her a funny look. _He says more than he thinks he does, _she noticed.

"On a diet?" he asked quizzically.

"No; there's nothing vegetarian on the menu," she said, cursing the stony-ness of her voice. _Why can't I say anything except what I have to? _Riku frowned.

"That's no reason to skip lunch," Riku insisted. "Waitress, can you get her spaghetti without the meatballs?" The waitress shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but our sauce has meat in it too."

"Don't you have anything that's meat-free?" Kairi added, concerned.

"Er… we could always give her some macaroni and cheese…"

"That'd be fine—right Naminé?" Riku asked, watching her expectantly. _Something about the way he says my name… _

"Sure," she said softly, shrugging. The waitress finally asked,

"And to drink?" All of them agreed on pop. The waitress left, and returned a few minutes later with their food.

Kairi and Tidus dug into their lasagna, Riku had no difficulty with the spicy meatballs, and Sora… well, the chef had no idea what Sora had meant, so had settled on the classic—pizza. When he got it, Sora had simply frowned, shrugged and ate it anyways: who didn't love pizza?

Naminé picked at her macaroni and cheese—she had never liked it much, but thought it would be rude to refuse since Riku and Kairi had been so concerned.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Pretty soon, everyone had finished their meals. Well, everyone except for the blondie in front of him. _Naminé… wow, it's been a while since we've met, hasn't it? _Riku reflected._ She's _so_ quiet… was she always like this? How is anyone supposed to have a conversation with this girl?_

Ok, so Riku could be quiet too. But his was more because he had nothing to say. Naminé? She just seemed shy.

While he was finishing his pop, Kairi stood up.

"Guys, I'm gonna go check out the other stores around here, okay?" she said, picking up her black leather purse and swinging it over her shoulder. _Figures. Where there're shiny things; there's Kairi._

"What _other stores_ Kairi?" Tidus scoffed, easing back in his chair. Kairi rolled her eyes,

"We saw some… it's a small plaza, but I'm sure there's something interesting… anyone wanna come?"

"I will," Sora obliged, getting up. Riku shook his head, smirking slightly. _A good boyfriend. Always gotta make sure your girl is safe. _

"Naminé?" Kairi asked. The younger sister shook her head in response. Shrugging, Kairi and Sora left the diner.

Riku sighed and put down his now empty glass, and said to Tidus,

"What are we gonna do about the car?" Tidus nodded quickly in response.

"Right! Okay, so I'll go fuel up now… I guess someone should stay for when Kai and Sor come back."

"I'll stay," Naminé offered. The 15-year-old had not finished her food, and instead had pulled a sketchbook out of her bag with a pencil. Riku gave a start.

_Yeah… it's definitely her. _She's_ the one who I saw backstage at the Finals._

She was now staring out the window, tapping the pencil to the page almost impatiently.

Tidus shared a look with Riku, before he turned back to Naminé.

"Why don't you come with me? Riku will stay here," he offered. Riku nodded at the girl who was now facing them again.

"Oh, why must I go though?" It wasn't an outraged protest, just a quiet question. Riku was about to out right say: _"There's no way we're leaving a 15-year-old girl alone in some diner in the middle of nowhere."_ But Tidus beat him, instead saying,

"It'll impress the guys at the gas station. They'll think I'm real high end with a classy act like you on my arm," he teased, a slight smirk on his lips. Naminé laughed: a high, gentle sound that resembled a breeze whispering past mountains. _Ugh, _Riku scolded himself._ That was completely unnecessary. I haven't been able to write a new song in so long I'm starting to take out the poetry on people. _

"Oh? How can you be so sure I'm acting?" she retorted playfully. Riku quirked an eyebrow—this was the first time she'd actually flirted back with Tidus. First time she'd really said anything other than politely smile and laugh.

Tidus laughed, and shook his head, replying equally as playfully,

"You keep that up with the gas station guys and maybe we'll get a discount." Smiling that soft smile of hers, Naminé responded,

"No, seriously, I'd rather stay here. I want to… I want to draw for a bit." Tidus nodded in understanding and left. Riku perhaps would have gone too, but he really wasn't comfortable leaving the girl on her own.

"What… what are you drawing?" he asked gently, his lame attempt at small talk. Naminé was lightly sketching something, forehead crinkled.

"A picture," she responded dully. Riku couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes. _So much for that._

"Brilliant answer from someone who goes to the supposed finest academy in the nation. Didn't you actually learn anything?" he responded, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. Naminé looked up, and Riku was surprised to see a flicker of pain in her eyes,

"I… I learned plenty. I had the best teacher in the world, and… and…" Her frustration had grown and she let her sentence trail off, eyes going back to her sketchbook. She was now pressing harder with her pencil. Leaning forwards in his seat, Riku rested his elbows on the table. _Sure gets touchy real easily._

"Sorry," he offered, still staring at the table. Looking up, he added, "I'm sure you're great. Kairi's always talking about it."

"Really?" Naminé asked, pausing for a moment. Riku was caught off guard. Answering honestly, Riku instead said,

"Not really—I just thought I should say something nice." Naminé's lip twitched in a smile, but her head bent over again. This time, her drawing sketching remained steady for a while before frustration wrought its way into her brow again.

_Wonder what's wrong with her… I've seen some of her art work, she is amazing… artist's block maybe? _Writer's block was common… did painters and sketchers get it too? _Probably. _

Sighing and leaning back again, Riku watched the blonde-haired girl attempt to draw. She would make a few lines, grow upset, and either scratch it out or rip off the piece of paper all together and toss it back on the table. Her blue eyes—identical to her sister's—sparkled furiously, and her pretty, pale face was filled with aggravation. Slender hands continued to draw, though it seemed she wasn't happy with the results.

Riku frowned. He recalled the last time he had seen her this upset… that had been years ago, when they were children. _It had been so easy to cheer her up then…_

_Riku left Kairi's house into the humid summer air. They had been working on a piece for their school band – Kairi had just been introduced into it, playing the piano. It'd been a long practice session – he'd been ready to go home and play video games half an hour ago. As he made his way outside to begin the walk home, he thought he heard something. Crying. It was muffled slightly, but it was crying all the same. _

_Turning the corner, he saw Kairi's younger sister—Naminé—sitting on the curb, sobbing gently but burying her face in her hands. _

_Because he recognized the girl, he had made to move comfort her. When he approached the 11-year-old, he awkwardly put a hand on one of her shoulders. _What do I know about comforting? Not like being at home has taught me anything. _The girl pulled away quickly, and looked up with tears streaming down her face._

"_What's wrong Naminé?" Riku had asked, sitting down beside her. She tugged her knees in closer to herself._

"_I'm leaving," she said after a pause. Riku looked over at her,_

"_Why?" _

"_Because I got accepted into a special school for arts."_

"_Didn't you want to get in?"_

"_Yes… but I didn't realize… it's a boarding school. When my parents told me about it, they didn't tell me I'd be away from home almost all year, all by myself."_

_Riku nodded, not knowing what to say. _I'm so bad at these kinds of things… _Kairi needed to be here. Or Sora. They knew how to deal with people who were upset… they'd dealt with him enough times…_

_Not knowing what else to do, Riku grabbed Naminé's hand and began to lead her down the street. _Look, _he wanted to say. _Take in what you can of this town before you're gone. _Maybe she got the message; her head whirled in every direction, watching everything._

_Finally, he got to where he wanted. There was a small ice cream parlour that Riku always went to whenever he needed a treat. Maybe it was because this was where his Mom had always taken him after school before she'd passed away._

_Leading Naminé inside wordlessly, Riku bought a chocolate and vanilla cone. _I hope this does something… she shouldn't have to cry… _The man handed it to him, and turning, Riku gave it to Naminé. _

_She was surprised—she was still too busy watching everything to notice what he had been doing. She finally let go of his hand, and accepted the ice cream. Then, even though she was leaving, even though he barely knew her, even though he had said nothing but give her ice cream…_

… _She smiled. _Maybe I'm not so bad at this after all…

… _Yeah, times were definitely easier then. _Everyone got so complex when they were older. Stupid people. Stopped making sense all together—_like Dad… wasn't always such an ass. Mom always made him happy… _

Riku sighed after having re-lived the memory—that had been so long ago. Kairi and Naminé had moved to Destinyville about five years ago, and Naminé had started going to that Academy four years ago. _LiD _had formed when the band members were only twelve and thirteen, and Kairi and Sora had started going out when they were thirteen.

Naminé hadn't been around when the band formed, but she learned of it. She had been really happy to hear about it from her sister though—Riku remembered Kairi saying that. _She had been really happy…_

Right now, Naminé was still pouring over her sketchbook, trying to draw something without much success. Riku was surprised to see she was almost frustrated to tears. _Won't you smile? _He asked her silently.

An idea occurring to him, Riku got up. Naminé hardly even noticed.

Walking over to the cashier, he asked them quietly for another order. The man nodded, and handed Riku what he had asked for. A cup of ice cream.

Smooth, caramel ice cream. _As long as she actually likes it…_

Approaching their table again, Riku slid into his seat again. Putting the cup on the table, he slid it over to Naminé. The girl gave a start when it bumped into her sketchbook. Confused, she looked up at him, as if asking, _Where did this come—?_

Then realization hit her, and there was an awkward moment before she smiled in thanks to him. Frustration now off of her face, Naminé began eating the ice cream. She stopped and asked him,

"Want some?" Offering him a spoonful. _Polite as ever_, he thought, smirking slightly. He shook his head silently. Naminé dropped her gaze and continued to eat the ice cream, spoon chinking against the plain glass cup.

Riku watched her, and leaned back in his seat, wondering if she had taken the same trip down memory lane as he had. Maybe that was why she had paused for a moment while eating the ice-cream, and looked up at him briefly.

_Either way, _Riku told himself. _Another job well done. I think I've gotten better at this… not as useless as _he_ thinks._

"Better than mac and cheese, eh?" he asked, teasing. Naminé smiled,

"Much better."

"Oh, but it was so raw looking. Bet it tasted fresh."

"Fresher than—"

"—a breeze whispering past mountains?" Riku suggested, remembering. Naminé looked at him funny, but smiled all the same.

"Something like that," was all she said. For a moment, she looked him directly in his eyes, and Riku met the gently sparkling blue ones with his own piercing aqua ones. Naminé broke the entrancing moment, by looking up when Kairi and Sora re-entered the diner. _Wonderful timing guys. Just wonderful. _Shaking his head slightly, Riku stood up to meet his bandmates. A few seconds later, Tidus rushed into the diner and motioned for them to come outside.

"Come on!" Tidus called out. "We gotta get going—I parked illegally and we have to move before someone notices!"

"Nice job Tidus," Riku drawled while pulling out two one-hundred munny notes to cover the band's bill. Naminé made to pull out a note of her own as well, but Riku stopped her by saying,

"Hey hey, don't do that. I ordered something you didn't even want, and the ice cream was on me." Sighing, Naminé nodded and got up, leaving the diner as well.

Once he'd gone up to the counter to pay, Riku followed after Naminé. He tried to convince himself that her frustration was annoying. _Honestly, if she starts moping around, crying all the time, I'm not taking it. I'm not going to keep buying her ice cream forever; she should just toughen up from… whatever's bugging her._

But still, Riku could not help but remember how pleased he'd been to be the one to make her smile with that ice-cream.

* * *

**A/N:** Sora had ordered Rotini btw. I think so. :p My next chapter might take a bit longer to get posted… I dunno. January is pretty busy for me, so don't expect something too soon. Even if you read this a week after its been posted… still review! I kind of have an idea of where this is going, but there's no point to continuing if no one else is enjoying the story with me. So review guys! Come on, it only takes like… a few seconds… !!


	4. Abs of Steel

**A/N:** First off, once again, thanks _so _much to all who reviewed!

Next order of business… sorry about the long wait for this chapter guys! I had to write a bunch of exams, and all of that sort of got in the way. I made sure to make this chapter longer to make up for the wait you guys!

Anyways, I'm sorry for the really random scenes in the chapter… if they seem that way that is. I meant this chapter to be another sort of band-bonding chapter, if you catch that. Btw, "scones" are just English muffins. If you've noticed so far, I've been avoiding using country names and such in anything really, just because even though this world is like ours, it _isn't _ours, you know? Yeah yeah, enough of my rambling, just go ahead and read!

And Sora's dream… really random. I'm not sure if I meant it to be funny like "haha omg Diamonds is such a dork" or like parody stuff. You choose. :P

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing related to Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy or England. :P

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Four_: Abs of Steel

* * *

Almost two days had passed since _LiD_ left Destinyville. They had stayed at two decent motels the previous nights, and the breakfast they served wasn't too bad. _Hank's House—_one of the motels they'd stayed in—had served a nice vegetarian breakfast for Naminé, in her opinion, complete with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toasted scones.

Tidus, as he persisted, got his meat once again ("Hey, slow down man!" Sora had cried when he saw Tidus snorting three platefuls of bacon and eggs. Tidus, in turn, had thrown him a savage snarl.)

Shaking her head at the memory, Naminé leaned back in her seat to take in her surroundings. As the previous afternoons, the sun's rays poured into the convertible, wind whipping by. Naminé watched as the wind entangled itself into the silver-haired teen sitting in front of her, sending silver tresses in every which direction.

Riku was currently driving, his and Tidus' shades pulled on to block out the sun's intensity. Tidus was sitting back in his passenger seat, with his feet propped up on the dashboard to support the map, head bobbing up and down to the beat of his mp3. Naminé grimaced—the rest of the group wouldn't be happy to see greasy stains on the map in his lap from the pepperoni he was devouring ("Nooo!" Tidus had moaned, as they had piled into the car earlier that morning. "We can't leave without pepperoni! I _love _pepperoni!").

Sora lay asleep in the back, with his head resting on the door, and one leg half-propped on the seat to maximize his comfort. Kairi, too, lay asleep in the comfort of her boyfriend's arms.

_They look so cute together,_ Naminé thought warmly, before drawing her attention to the scenery passing alongside her: lush green meadows settled in the mists of a clear, bright blue sky. Trees burst to view in and out of the blurred beauty, disappearing just as suddenly as the convertible raced by.

When Naminé looked up, she found herself lost in the sky's depth, and for a moment, she could feel herself being lifted, the wind caressing through her hair. She would remember this scene for later, for her sketchbook.

Her stomach rumbled, so she decided to reach down and search through her tote for something to eat. After settling on some baby carrots, she pulled herself back up, but not before catching a pair of aqua eyes behind shades in the rearview mirror.

Her breath caught in her throat. Of course, she realized he wasn't looking back at her, but _still._ His eyes were focused on the road before them, searching the road signs for their next pit stop. Her eyes, however, didn't leave the mirror.

She could barely see them through his glasses, but a distinct outline was there. His eyes almost looked tranquil, as if he too, were lost in his thoughts. Naminé thought about the odd contrast Riku made with his friends. He was a lot quieter (almost intimidating) then the rest of the gang. Sora with his happy-go-lucky, carefree attitude; Kairi and her fiery personality; and Tidus, who was also laidback (almost to the point of laziness), but flirtatious nonetheless. Naminé smiled to herself. This was a tight group, and a part of her envied the fact that she never had the chance to join in.

Brilliant aqua eyes suddenly flashed to meet hers.

Naminé felt heat rise to her face; she ungracefully looked away—_Stupid! He caught you! _Again!—but not before catching the amusement hidden behind his dark frames, a slight crinkle in his eyes as he went back to looking at the road.

Naminé settled back in her seat. She _had _to stop watching him like this. _Or at least, you could be more subtle._ Sulkily, she went back to staring out at the landscape, and quietly began munching on her carrots.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Riku smiled in amusement.

He had been driving soundlessly towards their next stop, bored out of his mind at the lack of entertainment. Tidus listening to his own music (and working his way through his stick of beef jerky now. It seemed to Riku that Tidus was paying more attention to not missing a morsel of his _darling_ meat than finding the next pit stop); Kairi and Sora still peacefully asleep in the back, and Naminé… well…

Naminé was as quiet as ever. He honestly couldn't remember if she had always been like this… but he felt that she was _too_ quiet, and he didn't want to scare her. Well, not yet, anyways. It could possibly be funny to see her scampering off like a mouse, but then Kairi would get the last say in that one. Still though.

_Huh,_ he thought, _if she expects to hang out with us, then she'd better start talking some more. Our group's one hell of a rowdy one._ He remembered glancing back at her that morning when they had left, only to see her red face buried in her hands, as the trio had goofed around. He wondered now how she would fit in.

Even though Riku was fond of his band… after hanging out for so long with his idiot of a best friend, his girl, and the other clown, it was… _different_ to have someone so pacified enter the picture. He briefly wondered if she would be able to handle their practice sessions once they reached Twilight City. _There's no way we're babysitting her if she doesn't want to stick around…_

But then… he _did_ find her amusing. The way her crystal blue eyes had widened in embarrassment; how she covered it with a light cough all the while averting her eyes. So amusing… _it's almost cute_. Flicking his eyes up, he saw her nibbling meekly on a few baby carrots, staring determinedly away from the rearview mirror. As expected though, for a brief instant, brilliant blue eyes strayed to meet his aqua orbs before they snapped away again, Naminé's face bright red.

Riku smirked to himself again.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

_Everything was… blue. And pink. And white. And brown. Okay, so maybe everything wasn't one colour. Either way, Sora found himself surrounded by sweet colours, all swirling and about as he fell… sinking deeper and deeper…_

Mmm… candy…

I'd really like some candy right now, _Sora thought intelligibly. But a sudden jerk told him he had landed from his dreamy haze, and rolling to his feet, Sora looked around._

_He stood on a stained-glass platform… no wait! For it was not stained-glass! It was merely peanut brittle, so glossed with sugar it looked like glass. _Mmm… _kneeling over, Sora licked the ground._

**So much to do, so little time, **_a voice said. _**Do not be deceived by all that is sweet. **_Sora frowned. _I'm not, _he responded. _I don't fall for Kairi's… _girlish_ tricks _every _time.

**Yes you do. **Shut up, so maybe I do; guys will do crazy things for a girl they love, okay?** Words of the ignorant.** Say that again!

**That's beside the point! Young one, you have a greater purpose. Prove yourself, and choose your weapon. **

_Frowning at the sudden change of topic—Sora had been so sure he was going to win that argument—he stepped forwards, when three pedestals appeared. To his left was a red and white stripped candy cane, like the Winter Holiday ones only much larger; to his right was an enormous jawbreaker—_I wonder if it has a bubble gum center…

_And right in front, was the single most massive, most incredible, colorful, sour-istic sour key ever. _

**What will you choose? **

Hey wait; why do I get candy? Why isn't there anything cool, like a bloody axe or a dangerous sword or a huge stick of pepperoni?

**Pepperoni? **_Sora cursed himself for spending so much time around Tidus_. Never mind.

**Just choose. **

_Striding forwards, Sora gripped the sour key. _There; happy? _In response, a door opened before him, light streaming onto the brilliant peanut brittle floor…_

… _One laboured step at a time, Sora entered the light…_

**But remember young one. The stronger your sweet tooth becomes, the more it will consume you… control you…**

_Whirling, Sora looked around. _What? _But he didn't need to look any further. Suddenly, the innocent, glossy ground beneath him reached scorching temperatures. With a yelp, Sora let up and tried to run, but at the edge of the platform was only more endless abyss of swirling colours. _

_Crying out, Sora collapsed, as he was swallowed by the caramel, sugary, sticky fluid. He began thrashing about, one hand reaching for help. _Let me outta here! I'm serious! I want _out_!

"AHHHHHHH!"

—for the second time, Sora landed with a crash on hard ground.

"Dumbass!" a voice cursed at him. An angry, worried voice Sora knew all too well. Opening his eyes groggily, Sora suddenly remembered the horrific dream. Throwing himself to a sitting position to look up at Tidus, he retorted,

"What? No! This huge caramel… swamp swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—ow!" From above, Kairi had whacked him on the head. Groaning, Sora suddenly realized he was on the grass beside the convertible.

"Are you still dreaming?" Kairi demanded, leaning over him from where she was still seated. Riku whirled around in the driver's seat, livid.

"Moron! Don't ever, _ever_, do that again!" Wincing, Sora grimaced. _Riku only gets this pissed when he's freaked out._

"What did I do?" Sora insisted, rubbing the back of his head. _What happened?_

"Screamed like a friggin' girl! Scared the friggin' crap outta all of us!" Tidus snapped, yanking Sora to his feet. From what he could see, they'd pulled over, Tidus had jumped out and jerked open Sora's door—which was how he had ended up rolling onto the grass.

"Whaddya _mean _screamed like a _girl_?" Kairi growled, glaring daggers at Tidus.

"That's not the point!" Tidus cried out, as Sora clamoured back into the convertible. _But that had been so real; they'd have done the same thing… _His best friend was now staring back at the road in the driver's seat, his jaw taut. Recognizing the expression, Sora sighed. No doubt Riku was gonna be a jerk-ass for getting him all worked up.

Tidus slammed the door behind Sora, and hopped into the front passenger seat. "Dumbass," Tidus muttered again darkly as Riku revved up the car.

"Ugh, come on Sora," Kairi wrapped her arms around him, and raised one hand to ruffle his hair. Sora bit back the urge to cry out when she brushed against his bruise. Still feeling sulky, Sora said,

"I had a nightmare, okay? Not my fault. So just, yeah. Not my fault." Crossing his arms, Sora leaned back in his seat—they had shifted so now Sora was in the middle. Kairi giggled slightly, and leaned into her boyfriend.

"We know, we know, sorry for yelling at you," she soothed, threading arms around his waist as Riku steered the car back onto the road. From the front, Sora heard a distinct "Hmph" from Riku. Planting a light kiss on him, she laughed, "You're so cute when you're mad."

"I don't wanna be cute when I'm mad though!" Sora proclaimed, pulling on his best puppy dog face. As he expected, Kairi burst out giggling once more and snuggled in under his arm. Smirking slightly, Sora swung his arm up over Naminé's seat. _Gotta love Kairi. No one jumps moods as fast she does. _He rested his head on top of his girlfriend's, getting comfy. Shifting slightly, he turned to Naminé and said,

"Come on Naminé. Join the party." Naminé laughed and replied,

"Wouldn't want to make my sister jealous, now would I?" From the corner of his eye, Sora saw Riku's eyes flick to the rear view mirror, glancing at the backseat.

"Don't be stupid!" Kairi protested, lifting her head slightly. "There's more than enough Sora to go around!" Sora grinned and patted his stomach fondly.

"Yep," he added. "Nice and comfy, even with these mad steel abs of mine."

Riku snorted from the front. Tidus and Kairi snickered.

The car was now back in the mainstream, and they started passing other vehicles. Naminé smiled, almost sympathetically at him. Sora thought, _wonder why she's so… timid? _Surprisingly, Sora felt Naminé adjust so she could lay her head on his "abs of steel".

After glancing into the mirror, Tidus nudged Riku with a smirk and reclined back in his seat, taking up the leg space since Kairi had curled her legs up on the seat. With his hands behind his head, Tidus teased,

"Come on up here, Naminé, and _we_'ll show you some _real _abs of steel."

"Yeah, don't be shy, Naminé," Riku drawled. "We won't bite."

"Not that hard anyways," Tidus added mischievously, sharing a knowing glance with Riku.

Sora opened his mouth to reply, but Naminé beat him to it.

"No thanks," she replied cheekily. "I'll stick to Sora's flubber." Sora smacked the top of her head playfully, but replied,

"See? What chick wants to lie on a sheet a metal anyways? You gotta learn to soften up for the ladies, guys."

"Whatever," Tidus retorted. "I've had more than enough chicks lie on _these_ babies." Tidus patted his abdomen. Grinning, he asked Naminé,

"Wanna be my next contestant?" Naminé laughed, and Sora couldn't help but feel lightened. _At least she's having fun with us… maybe she will come out of that shell of hers._

"Maybe some other time," she replied playfully. Tidus cocked an eyebrow back and sat up in his seat, just as Riku was heading towards the exit ramp.

"Eh? I'm gonna hold you to that babe," he smirked, relaxing against his reclined seat again. Sora laughed.

"Careful Naminé; if he tries anything funky, I'll kick his ass for you."

"Like to see you try."

Sora nudged Tidus in the head with his leg. Settling down with the two sisters on either side of him, Sora relaxed. _Half way there, but I'm starting think I don't want this to end, _he thought to himself, smiling.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Feeling the car pull into a stop, Naminé stirred and lifted her head from Sora's stomach. _Okay, so it's not _that _flabby. _But it had been fun teasing him all the same. The rays of dying light weren't too fierce, but Naminé didn't want to wake up all the same. Settling her head back down, she wasn't able to rest long before she felt someone shaking her.

"Naminé," a voice said. Calloused fingertips made contact with her supple skin. With a slight groan, Naminé forced herself to wake up completely. Above her, leaning over the car was a certain silver-haired, aqua-eyed young man. With a start Naminé sat up, flustered. Too bad she hadn't paid more attention. With the sudden motion, Riku had not had time to move away and when she sat up—

"Damn!" he cried out. Her blonde head had collided painfully with his face. Naminé tried to scramble away, horrified at what she had just done.

"I-I'm so sorry—I didn't—you—s-sorry..." the girl managed to splutter out, as she looked away. Her blonde bangs fell into her face, covering her eyes. _Naminé, you are absolutely pathetic. Honestly, _she cursed herself mentally. Shakily, she climbed out of the car, seeing Riku rubbing his nose in pain. Naminé rubbed her own arm awkwardly, and said to Riku in a small voice, "I really am sorry, I didn't mean to… I didn't see you there…" Riku sighed and said, nose and mouth still covered by his hand,

"It's fine, it's fine. Let's just get going inside, okay?" Naminé nodded her head and went to the back trunk, where Tidus and Kairi were already pulling out a few bags. Riku stayed beside the car, attempting to wake Sora up; the brown haired teen was putting up quite the struggle.

"We don't need everything," she heard Kairi say to Tidus. "We're only gonna be here for one night, so just take a change of clothes and a few things, okay?" Tidus grumbled in response. Two brunettes walked past, one of them "accidentally" bumping into the blond drummer while letting the pair run their eyes over his fit physique.

"Sorry," she said with a slight pout, while her friend burst into giggles. Turning, Tidus casually leaned against the car and said,

"I think I just died."

"Huh?" the girl asked, her giggling friend shutting up immediately. "I'm sorry—honestly, I was just…"

"Yeah, 'cause a couple of angels spent a little bit of their heavenly seconds, just for me." With that, Tidus smirked as the two girls burst into a fresh round of giggles. Still blushing, the two waved a cheerful goodbye as they continued on their way. Naminé saw Kairi look at her and pull a goofy, mocking imitation of one of Tidus's devilish smirks, rolling her eyes. Naminé threw her hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Hey, lover boy," Kairi called out to Tidus, who had become distracted with watching the girls leave. She chucked a bag at him, and he caught it just in time. "Come on—yeah, you too Naminé—let's get inside."

"What about Riku and Sor the Whore?" Tidus asked.

Kairi squinted her eyes at him suspiciously. "The _Whore_?" she repeated.

"Yeah, stupid jerk got to cuddle up with both you _and _your sexy-sweet sister." Naminé burst out laughing, and had to double over and kneel on the ground to stop herself from falling over entirely. It helped to cover up her beet-red face too. Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"_Me?_" Naminé gasped out, still laughing uncontrollably. "_Sexy_? Yeah, just as much as you are hard-working." Kairi burst out laughing at that, and Tidus couldn't help but join in.

If ever complimented, it was usually cute, adorable, pretty, sweet… but never _sexy_. Just the thought made her double up with laughter again at the ridiculous notion.

"Okay, okay," he admitted. "I was trying to compliment you, all right? Now come on already." Naminé nodded, still grinning. Scooping up her bag again, the three made their way to the motel steps. As they entered, Kairi said aloud sarcastically,

"Oh yeah, the other two will come as soon as the Whore wakes up."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Inside was dimly lit—the whole place didn't look too great. _Wonderful. We're spending the night in a crap-shack. _Kairi adjusted the bag on her shoulder, and dropped her stuff down at one of the waiting chairs by the front desk. Motioning to her sister, she said,

"Naminé—just stay here with the bags while me and Tidus go sort the rooms out, 'kay?" Naminé nodded obediently and sat down, knees together, ankles crossed, and slender hands folded in her lap. Today, she was wearing an airy pink peasant skirt that went just past her knees and a silky white, deep-necked (_deep for _Naminé _anyways, _Kairi thought) but still collared shirt. On quite the contrast, Kairi was wearing a denim blue mini-skirt. She also wore a lush red hoodie, since with dusk, it had gotten quite chilly. Besides, the red on the hoodie complimented her hair quite nicely, Kairi told herself.

Tidus, who'd also pulled on his navy-blue hoodie, was already standing in line—and thankfully, there were no pretty girls around to distract him. _We're just gonna get the damn rooms, and if he wants to stay in some other chick's room for the night, then so be it. _But that didn't mean she had to deal with his flirtatious ways _now._

Shifting slightly, Kairi glanced at her baby sister and frowned. As much as she trusted her friends… she was worried their… _flirtatious _ways might be making Naminé uncomfortable. So far she seemed okay, but Kairi silently swore if Naminé ever felt even a bit awkward Kairi would personally kick Tidus' ass. Or Riku's. Whichever loser got to her first.

Rolling her eyes mentally, she pulled up her hood and jammed her hands in her hoodie's pocket to warm them up while they waited in line. Not that it was much of a line—only two other groups stood in front of them. _Come on, come on already…_ Kairi thought impatiently, tapping her white sneakers on the floor.

And right on cue, Sora burst in through the door, hair still a mess from having just awoken and clothes wrinkled. Riku followed, dropping off his bags with Naminé as well. Somewhat surprised, Kairi saw Riku pause briefly in front of her sister, as though he was wanted to say something. _He's been… really… weird lately. Unless… _Whatever Riku had been going to say, he seemed to change his mind and decided to walk over to Tidus, Kairi and her approaching boyfriend.

Reaching her, Sora briefly kissed her on the cheek before saying,

"Sorry—I didn't know we got here—I was dreaming—_no Kairi_, don't look at me like that, not _that _dream… no, there wasn't any candy this time…" Kairi rolled her eyes at her boyfriend but let him wrap his arms around her waist anyways. Still feeling bad tempered in general—Sora was late, the line was taking forever, it was _cold_—Kairi didn't say anything. _Whatever Kairi, _she told herself. _You know you're not gonna stay mad at Sora for long. _No, he was too sweet and good-natured to hold a grudge against. Probably one of the reasons she'd come to love him so much.

"Oh come on Kai, it's not like it was _important _that I was here or anything…" Sora defended, as Kairi's forehead rested against Sora's neck. _Guys are morons… _she thought fondly.

"Yeah yeah, just kiss me and I'll forgive you," she replied sulkily, looking up to face him. With a grin, Sora complied enthusiastically. She didn't see Riku roll his eyes, but she was more than willing to bet he had when he said,

"Pshht. Couples."

Tidus drawled, "Yeah you two. Yeesh—get a room." Sora pulled away and replied flatly,

"We _are _getting a room, doofus." Kairi and Riku burst out laughing. As she had expected, Sora grinned and punched Tidus' arm good-naturedly and added teasingly, "You can share with Riku and Naminé." Brightening, Tidus said,

"Really?" Kairi pulled away from her boyfriend, and glanced at her sister. She hadn't seemed to have heard a thing, because she was still staring carelessly at the floor, lost in thought. Looking back at the three dorks in front of her, Kairi snapped,

"Eh? I don't think so. No way I'm leaving my baby sister with a guy like _him_." Kairi jabbed a finger into Tidus' chest. Riku laughed softly and tugged a few strands of her hair gently to get her attention,

"Don't worry—I'll protect her for you Kai."

Tidus smirked and double-punched Riku playfully in the chest with both fists. With a wink he replied,

"Atta boy, Riku! Just make sure _you're_… you know, _protected_ as well." Riku looked torn between looking disgusted to make Kairi happy, or replying just as suggestively back for some kicks and man-pride. _Dumbasses_, Kairi snorted and said out loud,

"That's it—Naminé and me will share a room, you three are gonna take another." Sora's laughed,

"I should be disappointed, but I think I'll sleep easier too knowing Kai's sis is safe from any creeps." Riku smirked and shook his head, and Tidus started to say,

"Yeah, probably for her own good, I think—"

At that instant, the door to the motel foyer burst open.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Naminé looked up, startled at the interruption to her day-dreaming. Somehow, once again, she'd found herself lost in thoughts of Radiant Garden, thoughts of how her most beloved teacher had passed away (_Will this feeling ever go away?_ she thought numbly)… and yet someone had seen fit to just barge in, laughing rather loudly. _Well it's not their fault. Like they knew._

At the door, one of the rowdy young men who'd thrown open the doors turned to his companion and said something she couldn't hear, but it made the two break out in laughter. The young man in the lead strode on into the motel. His hair was like raging fire—_in colour and in its shape, _Naminé thought. It was complimented by unnaturally green eyes, which were decorated with thin black eyeliner from what Naminé could see.

An expression of sheer superiority was plastered on his face, perfected with a smug smirk at the commotion he'd manage to arise with his grand entrance. He was wearing black leather pants, and 

overtop was an intimidating black trench coat with a high collar – all the better for burying him from prying eyes.

The companion that flanked him was a blonde; hair strung up in a semi-Mohawk without the baldness. He too wore a black trench coat, though his was thrown open to reveal a pitch black sweatshirt with an unrecognizable band symbol on it. Instead of leather though, this young man had navy jeans on.

Naminé tensed slightly—the very aura of these two just screamed, _I'm gonna get you outta my way, and you're gonna friggin' remember it. _It would have made an interesting picture to draw and emotion to capture, if she hadn't been frozen in place.

As the red-head walked past, he glanced down at Naminé. For a moment, those emerald-green eyes shone brightly with an intense emotion Naminé knew she'd be better off without. A leer crept onto his face, making Naminé drop her gaze quickly to the floor while biting on her lower lip.

"Hey," he said, looking at his friend, sarcasm and suave mixed smoothly. "Don't blondes have more fun?" The redhead motioned with his head to a blushing Naminé. _As if I'm not even here, _she thought angrily. The blonde-haired companion at his side burst out laughing, and spoke directly to Naminé,

"Why don't you show us?" The redhead laughed in turn, and leaned over towards her. _Completely creepy, _the flustered girl thought. _And I thought Tidus made things awkward. _

Naminé leaned back in her chair, away from him, and was about to say something when—

"Hey!" Kairi yelled at them.

"Leave her alone!" Sora said defensively towards the pair by Naminé. He had let go of Kairi, and had moved closer to Naminé. He stood by her chair, eyes narrowed. Turning, she saw the rest of _LiD_ stiffening, ready to move just in case. The two smirked to each other.

"Sorry—didn't mean to scare you," the blonde mocked.

"Who do you think you are, anyways?" Sora demanded. Naminé was startled; she only ever saw Sora when he was with Kairi, and then he was almost always in a good mood. She'd never seen angry or defensive Sora before. _There's a lot more to Sora then what I'd guessed._

"Demyx," the blonde answered coolly. "Enough said." The redhead spoke up, throwing out his arms in presentation, and smirking, said,

"The one and only Axel." Dropping his arms to his sides, he moved close to Sora's face and added patronizingly, "A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Laughing, the two shoved past Sora, and Axel threw one last smirk over his shoulder at Naminé before disappearing through the back door that led to the rooms. Grimacing, Sora watched them leave, but after they were gone he did not return to the line. Instead, he set himself down in the chair next to hers. For a moment he was silent, lost in thought as he gazed at the blue carpeted floor. Naminé watched him, still trying to get a grasp on just how much depth her sister's boyfriend had.

Noticing her eyes, Sora looked up and raised his eyebrows at her, a soft smile in place.

"What? They didn't scare you, did they?" he teased gently. His eyes shone again with their usual lustre; Naminé felt the tension loosen, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course not. I was just about to take them on before you came along and stole the spotlight," she replied, punching him in the arm playfully. Sora laughed and ruffled her hair, his anger now gone as soon as it had come.

"That's the way to go. I shoulda known—being Kairi's sister means you must have _some _sort of temper."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kairi demanded angrily, still in line. She looked as though she wanted to come over to Naminé, but had decided against it. Naminé figured that like her, Kairi thought there was no sense making a bigger deal out of this then what it was.

"Oh, you're right, hun—you're the coolest one around," Sora replied grinning, falling into his usual position: sprawled out, both hands behind his head, legs stretched. Kairi snorted in response and muttered something that sounded like,

"Damn straight."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Fists still clenched, Tidus glared at the counter in front of him. Sure, Sora could drop it all nice and easy, but Tidus? Hell no. The bastards just strutted in like they owned the place, harassed one of his friends and then picked a fight with Sora. Okay, so maybe they hadn't outright picked the fight. But they had been asking for it when they had been like, all over Naminé.

_Doesn't matter if I don't really like her or not, _Tidus thought angrily. He did like her—she was a soft-spoken, sweet and incurably shy young girl. But a bit too shy for his taste—he needed a girl who could keep up with him the whole damn way—but he was still coming to see her as a friend. _Assholes. _

Still seething, Tidus turned to Riku.

"There's no way we're separating with assholes like those hanging around the motel," he said to his friend. Riku wasn't outright angry—not like Tidus—but after knowing him for so long, Tidus recognized the clenched jaw and tense biceps from his lead singer. From the tilt of his head, Tidus knew Riku was watching Naminé carefully.

Riku nodded in response to Tidus, not saying anything. When they finally approached the counter though, Riku told the man,

"One room please." The man raised an eyebrow.

"The most you can get are two beds in a room you know," he told Riku. Too annoyed to think straight, Tidus replied for Riku,

"Whatever. Just give us the room for the night." The man nodded with a questioning look, and handed Tidus the guestbook and the key to the room.

"Okay, Room 16. Just go out the backdoor there—it's the last room you'll see." Tidus nodded, and turned to see an angry-faced Kairi.

"One room?" she demanded. "_One_?" Tidus grabbed her by the arm, and began steering her towards Naminé to grab the bags.

"Yep, _one_," Tidus replied cheerfully. "Too late, ah well; let's just make the best of it!"

"_Excuse me?_ But I don't wanna!" Kairi protested, even though she picked up her bag. "I need my beauty sleep! How will I get that with you three dorks around?" Tidus rolled his eyes and offered,

"Listen _gorgeous_, you'll be _fine_ without a night of 'beauty' sleep. And if you really want, you can have one bed to yourself, Sora and Riku can take another… they're practically brothers as it is—and me and Naminé will grab the couch. Sound good?" Kairi rolled her eyes at his cheekiness.

All the while, he had been leading the group to the room on the end of the narrow deck that acted as a hall to the rooms. It was practically night now—only a few glimmers of light remained, and the air had gotten chilly. Most were occupied, and one had left their windows open to tempt a breeze. As they walked past, Tidus saw the redhead—_Axel_, Tidus remembered—sitting on a bed, playing with a lighter.

On the other bed was another, but dirtier-blonde-haired—not Demyx though… this one had short, spiky hair and a genuine grin on his face. That was all Tidus managed to catch though, before they had passed the window. Besides, if he had stayed any longer, Tidus didn't think that he'd be able to fight the mad urge to drop his bags, storm in there and beat the son-of-a-bitches in the face. Bastards.

11… 12… they passed a couple that seemed to er, like each other quite a bit… 15… there, 16.

Slipping the key inside, Tidus held the door open for Naminé, who was right behind him, to pass.

"Ladies first," he said, a charming smile in place. Naminé smiled and was about to walk past when Riku cut in,

"Then let Sora go through." Tidus rolled his eyes; the two had been bickering quietly the entire brief walk to their room. They had stayed as close to the back as they could, so that no one could catch any of their conversation—whatever it was.

Tidus turned his head to Sora, who was rolling his eyes.

"You know Riku's not right in the head when he starts acting like a friggin' _kid_," Sora huffed, throwing a glare at Riku. The remark earned a few raised eyebrows from the rest of the band, though. It wasn't very often the duo directly insulted each other like this, Tidus thought.

Riku said nothing, but stormed into the room, roughly throwing the bags onto the floor. Kairi and Tidus locked eyes, and Kairi shrugged. _Isn't the first time they've fought over nothing… but they always get over it… _Tidus smiled mentally. _Like brothers is right. _

After everyone had passed him, Tidus stepped into the small room and closed the door behind him. It was a very simple room; in front of him was a bed, then there was a nightstand, and after that another bed. _Hardly big enough bed anyways, _Tidus thought mildly. Mentally, he smirked. _Damn Tidus. You're one hell of a horn dog. Heh._

Beside the door was a window and horrid purple curtains—right below that was a squishy couch. Aside from an oak dresser against the olive-green walls (_Eww… vegetables… _Tidus thought in disgust) across from the beds, and a door at the back that led to the adjoining bathroom, it was pretty bare.

Naminé was sitting on the navy couch, primp and proper as ever. _Yeesh, doesn't she ever let that… _preppiness_ down? _Kairi was lying on the bed farthest from the door, and Sora was sitting next to her, holding her hand in his lap, eyes lost in thought once again. For whatever reason, a still-irked Riku from the quarrel was leaning against the dresser, arms crossed and glaring at the floor.

Sighing, Tidus plopped his stuff in the middle of the floor along with everyone else's. It was too quiet. _Damn… is there anything to make this more exciting…? _He dropped down on the bed closer to the door and sprawled out.

"Naminé…" he drawled airily, suddenly inspired. He opened up his arms expectantly, staring at the ceiling. "Come to me, love of my life…"

To his surprise, he felt something hard land on his abdomen, bringing out an "Oof!" from Tidus. Sitting up, he groaned and rubbed his stomach, and saw Naminé's purse slide off of him. "Owww…" he muttered. Naminé giggled and said,

"Guess they weren't abs of steel after all."

At that, Kairi and Sora burst out laughing, and even Riku managed a smirk in spite of himself. Naminé came closer to his bed though, and scooped up her purse that had landed on it. Tidus, grinning, reached over and wrapped his muscular arms around her slim waist, and pulled her onto the bed. Once again, he had entrapped her in a hug, and she was lying next to him while he cuddled up.

"Sweet Naminé, I'll still love you after all the pain you put me through," he said dashingly, snuggling up next to her while he lay on his side. _No idea why I'm feeling so stupidly romantic. _Eh, probably too exhausted to think of witty innuendos—probably needed more meat too. _Mmm_. _Pepperoni_… Besides, it was so much easier to just charm. Like those two cute brunettes in the parking lot… _mmm_… angels was right.

Naminé laughed, but shifted somewhat uncomfortably under his arm.

"C'mon Tidus… you're too heavy to sleep near. You'll suffocate me, I swear," she said. He heard the couch creak next to him, and felt Riku's calloused fingers on him, pulling him away and rolling him onto his back.

"Tidus, give the girl a rest," Riku said, sounding tired. As an afterthought, he added teasingly, "Too many guys have been suffocating her as it is." She didn't say anything, but Tidus would bet his family jewels that she had just blushed an insane shade of red. She tended to do that around Riku.

"Awww…" Tidus mumbled unintelligibly. "I was comfy… not moving now…" He felt Naminé get up from beside him, and he aimlessly groped about with his eyes still closed, trying to pull her back.

"No… don't leave me…" Naminé swatted away his hands, and he heard the bed next to him creak.

"Me and Naminé will take this bed, you three work out the rest," he heard Kairi say. "We're gonna go get dressed for bed." There was a ruffling of bags, then a door opened and closed. _They must've gone into the bathroom to change. _Groaning, he sat up again. Sora and Riku had already started sorting through the bags, pulling out their pyjamas. The lead singer had also found Tidus', and chucked them at him. Tidus, still groggy, missed the catch terribly. Sora snickered.

"Don't know how you manage to play blitzball with a catch like that," he said, teasing again. Riku laughed at his friend's comment, and added,

"Probably flirted his way through the ranks, the lazy-ass."

"Yeah, but his charm can't last forever; the ladies'll kick him back down."

Sora and Riku burst out laughing good-naturedly, and Tidus smiled to himself as he stripped down. He didn't mind being the butt of their jokes if it meant they were on good terms again.

"Hey, I'm captain of the school team for a reason, dorks, " he responded, pulling his sleeper pants on. Shirtless, he was about to lay back down when Sora said,

"Hey! I am _not _sleeping next to half-naked man."

"Whatever. You know you'd like it."

"Shit no! You sweat enough to drown someone in your sleep!"

"That's 'cause I'm used to working up a sweat in bed."

"I don't give a damn, I'm serious Tidus, put a shirt on."

Tidus rolled his eyes and pulled an over-sized t-shirt over his head. Finally, he collapsed onto the bed, and felt Sora land next to him, only lying in the opposite direction. Riku had already claimed the couch, probably wanting the space. The girls came out of the bathroom, and laid down on their bed, Kairi in a pair of Sora's boxer shorts ("Didn't you bring your own clothes?" Sora grumbled. Kairi winked and replied, "Guess I forgot.") and a massively over-sized t-shirt. Naminé had on a long, cotton tank top and felt sleeper pants on.

"Looking good Naminé," Tidus managed out, slowly giving in to sleep. "You too Kai… go on and get your beauty sleep now…" From somewhere behind him, he heard Riku settle down on the couch with a blanket and pillow Sora had given him.

"Sleep tight ladies… don't fall off the couch Riku…" Propping open an eye one last time before falling asleep, he told Sora's feet in front of him,

"Nighty night Sor the Whore." The feet nudged him in the face after that, but Tidus was too tired to retaliate.

Finally, the five of them managed to settle down into a peaceful sleep. _Halfway there…_

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, well that would be it guys! Btw, I know I went "Me and him" a lot, instead of the proper "Him and I" structure, but I did it on purpose, seeing most people don't talk with perfect grammar. Just letting y'all know. Anyways, again, so sorry for the long wait… hope you enjoyed the long chapter! Make sure you leave a review if you did! And even if you didn't… I don't mind constructive criticism. :)

XX-diamonds-XX


	5. A Very Early Morning Stroll

**A/N: **Thanks again to all those who reviewed! Much appreciated.

Yay, I finally get to introduce Axel and Roxas properly! Sorry they weren't added sooner – it wasn't until this chapter came along that I decided to fully develop their characters.I hope you all enjoy this chapter anyways! Happy readings!

XX-diamonds-XX

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer: **Nope! I own nothing! All belongs to Disney and Square-enix!

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Five_: A Very Early Morning Stroll

* * *

_BZZZZZZT._

Riku shifted. He was so damn tired after a long day of driving, and he was in no mood to get up. _Whatever the hell that noise is, it better turn itself off!_

_BZZZZZZT._

_Ugh, shut up already!_

_BZZZZZZT._

Riku groaned and opened one eye to glare at whatever it was making that noise. Unsuccessful, he rubbed his eyes before propping himself on his elbows.

_BZZZZZZT._

"For crying out loud," he muttered to himself. He threw off the covers, and shaking his hair out of his eyes, glanced at the night table beside his couch. To his annoyance, he found his cell phone vibrating. _Damn._ If it was his father again…fury ignited in his stomach, his face changing to one of scorn. His father had tried calling Riku a couple of times over the past few days, and he regretted the one time he did answer, only to receive an earful of, _"Where the hell are ya?" _and _"You get your ass back over here now!"_ Any hopes of Riku having his father take a turn for the better fell flat after that phone call.

_BZZZZZZT._

Not wanting to wake anyone, he picked his phone up. He started when he saw who was calling, and glanced at the time: 1:27 a.m. He flipped it open.

"Hello?" he asked quietly.

"Hey hey brudda, how ya been doin'?" a male voice answered. His voice was light, yet heavily accented, and he didn't sound the least bit tired. Huh.

"Wakka? What are you doing up at this hour?" Riku replied, casting a look over at his friends to make sure they were still sleeping. Getting up quietly, he made his way towards the door outside.

"Heh heh. Well…this seemed like the best time to talk, ya? I dunno… but just listen, ya?" The air outside was cool, and Riku made his way towards the end of the walkway, where he couldn't disturb anyone. He furrowed his brows.

"What's up?" An uneasy feeling had settled in his stomach; something had to be wrong if Wakka was calling him _this_ late into the night. He'd known Wakka for a couple of years now, considering they had shared a majority of their classes together. And he knew Wakka only stayed up this late if something was on his mind.

"Well…look. I know you didn't leave on good terms with your old man, ya? Well…"

Riku blinked—even though he knew Wakka couldn't see him.

"What?"

"Hey now, I told you to listen, all right? Look, your dad's been worried—" Riku snorted.

"Didn't _sound_ like he was worried."

"—He's been calling and asking about you—"

Riku rolled his eyes. _Bullshit. _"Yeah?" Riku snapped, temper rising. "Why would that be? So he can find out where I am, and chew me out, telling me how I'm wasting my time? Huh?" In the back of his mind, Riku knew it wasn't fair to take this out on Wakka, but anger clouded his sense.

"Riku…

"No—you listen. I _already_ told him where I was going! If he had bothered to listen, bothered to _care_, that asshole wouldn't have to ask!"

"Maybe you should try talking to him—" Riku gripped the cold iron bar of the railing, clenching his teeth.

"No!" he hissed. "We have nothing to say to each other. And you can damn well tell him to stop calling me, 'cause there's no way in _hell_ I'm answering!" Riku was breathing hard, the fury in his stomach roaring. _Figures! The bastard is using my friends now too! _The passing breeze did nothing to cool him down.

Wakka sighed on the other end of the line. Okay, okay. Calm down, mon. At least I can tell him I tried

"Wakka, I gotta go—"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry for calling you so late…but I didn't want anyone else awake, ya? I know you're a light sleeper. Just…think about it. Take care, and call me when you guys get to Twilight City, ya?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Riku sighed, regretting the outburst on his good friend. "And Wakka? Look just… don't listen to my dad anymore, okay?" Wakka gave a humourless laugh, and the two exchanged goodbyes before Riku flipped his phone shut.

Taking a deep breath, he rested his elbows on the railing, hands raised to support his head.

_Worried? Ha, yeah right._ His father was anything but. He'd never shown any kind of emotion towards Riku since his mother passed away six years ago. His mother had been the glue of the family; without her…

Riku rubbed his tired eyes. First Sora, and now this…what was this, Let's-Gang-up-on-Riku-Day?

Phone in hand, he made his way back towards their room. Settling back on to his makeshift bed, his mind was anywhere but on sleep.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

_The sun's rays were shining dully through the array of clouds, drifting endlessly in the sky. The surrounding trees, lush with early summer air, filtered the little breeze that sifted through. A sea of black had settled before a raised statue, a hush rippling through the crowd._

_Naminé, to her great anguish, found herself seated once again amidst the sea of black, the statue in direct line of her sight. _

No…

"_Friends, family, staff…We're gathered around today to mourn the passing of our beloved Headmaster…"_

_Her eyes shifted focus to the delicate woman standing before them. A long swaying black dress flowed around her, a matching black ribbon intertwined into her bronzed braid. Professor Gainsborough. Tears shimmered lightly behind her pale blue eyes, as she delivered her speech. Naminé didn't want to do this, not again._

_She yearned to feel the sun's touch, a distant part of her mind hoping that it would melt away the chill that had nestled into her bones. But no; a bitter frost lined Naminé's heart. Her bones felt stiff; her breathing restricted._

There were no tears.

_She didn't understand. Not then—not now. _Good people weren't supposed to die. What did they do to deserve it? They—_he_—couldn't die. Too many people needed him!

_Naminé took a deep breath. _Stop. Control yourself._ But how could she? Emotions thundered through her, each one scorching her worst than the last._

_Naminé glanced at the friends sitting on either side of her. Their faces turned towards the podium, eyes full of sorrow and brimming with tears._

_But not hers. _

I will not cry.

"_He was a brilliant man, a bold man, and he was a beautiful man. He saw the art, the talent in the dedication in all of our students here today…"_

_The world distorted before her eyes._

"_Naminé?"_

_She turned around, only to find herself standing in a large piano room. _The Academy…_Her eyes roamed the room, tall glass windows making up large portions of the wall. The Academy garden bloomed outside, bordering the outdoor verandah._

"_Naminé, come here." Her eyes followed the direction of the voice, landing to her right, landing on to…_

Ansem_. Her Headmaster. Her teacher. _

_Stunned, Naminé moved carefully towards him, her steps small and swift, not believing what she was seeing before her eyes. He was sitting before the grand piano, hands rested in his lap._

"_Headmaster." She breathed when she stood beside him. She wanted to reach out and touch him; she wanted to know if he was there. If he was real. _If you're here…?

"_Come sit, Naminé. Have you been practicing on that flute I give you?" Naminé felt herself blush. _But this isn't real…

_Hesitating for a moment, she carefully sat down, head bowed down, and watched her Headmaster through the wisps of blonde hair shading her eyes. Ansem raised his own white-blonde eyebrows expectantly at her, a gentle smile gracing his features._

"_Kind of…" she answered meekly, staring out the window to her left. Chuckling, Ansem raised his hands over the piano keys._

"_Well let's see what you've got." He pressed down on the keys._

_However, she never heard a sound. When she turned her head to see why he wasn't playing, he was gone._

_He wasn't coming back._

_Naminé's throat had tightened; her heartbeat picked up, thundering in her ears._ No! I wouldn't—I can't…!

_A hand touched her shoulder. Naminé blinked, and realizing where she was, her fists clenched her black skirt._

"_Ansem, in his brilliance, helped to hire others by helping to fund for _Crystal FissureStudios_, right down the street where he always loved to walk. Everyday, most would see him out early, with his favourite sweatshirt on—yes, _that_ one, as you all remember—" Professor Gainsborough chuckled warmly here "—and spread his love for the arts even more. By fulfilling the dreams of so many here, he managed to fulfill his own."_

_Naminé felt nothing. Emptiness clouded her mind—it was all she could do to control the pain. _

_The Professor collected herself before continuing, gazing over the large audience before her. "As I step to take his place, I can only hope to be half the Headmaster that our dear Ansem the Wise was. And I'm sure all of us—staff, students, family, and friends—carry on his spirit within us, and I promise that _Radiant Garden_ will continue to glow with his pride of our talent and dedication."_

_Sniffs and sobs could be heard all around, as students and staff alike held hands in solace and comfort. Naminé's friend, Marina, grasped her hand, resting her head on her shoulder._

"_It'll be okay…" she whispered. Naminé bit her lip. _Honestly, what is crying going to accomplish? It won't bring him back, no matter how much you beg, and scream inside, no matter how much it hurts. _Nothing would ever make this feeling go away, she was sure of it._

_Marina started to cry softly beside her. Naminé so desperately wanted to join her, then. _

No… I won't… _her eyes began to prickle…_

… I have to be strong… I can do this… for him…_ Marina clasped her hand tighter…_

… For me… _a hard lump formed in her throat…_

… Please… _she tried to swallow, but her tongue was dry… so dry…_

"… _His legacy be carried on through the forthcoming generations. May his spirit soar through the heavens; may his light never die. Above all, may he rest eternally in peace…"_

_Naminé shut her eyes to stop the tears, and when she opened them, her world was black._

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Naminé forced her eyes open, her breathing deep and rapid. She quickly covered her mouth so the others wouldn't hear her and wake up; especially the slumbering Kairi.

Naminé rolled onto her back, resting a hand over her eyes, trying to regain control of her breathing. Her throat was dry as ever, the lump still there, and when she pulled her hand away, it was moist. From tears or sweat, Naminé couldn't say.

Her head was still swirling with remnants from the dream – _Why _that_ dream? – _and she was feeling restless. Naminé sat up and glanced at the clock. 2:54 a.m.

She sighed. She wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon. Naminé glanced over at her companions, whom she almost forgot were there. Riku was still sleeping on the couch, one hand tucked under his pillow. She noticed that his face was set in a deep frown; eyebrows furrowed. She hoped he was still asleep, though. Looking over at Sora… well, Sora's leg was sprawled over on top of Tidus, while Tidus was holding on to it. Naminé did a double take. Was Tidus… chewing on Sora's toe? She shuddered. If Kairi were awake now, she would have squealed at the photo-op moment. Naminé smiled half-heartedly to herself. _And then blackmail them with it…_

Carefully, not wanting to disturb Kairi—who really slept through anything—she climbed off the bed. She went over to her bag, and started to search through it, looking for the one thing that at times like these, could calm her mind down.

Naminé pulled the small case out, and assembled what she needed. Holding the delicate silver gift in her hands, she walked over to the door, and pulled it open quietly. She needed fresh air, but more importantly, she needed to be alone.

Crisp night air touched her face, caressing her shoulders. She shivered at the slight cold, but it felt refreshing. Looking up, she saw a pitch-black stage, with wispy clouds for curtains, and stars finding their moment to shine.

She walked to the end of the railed walkway, where there were no rooms to disturb. _Perfect._ She raised the small instrument to her lips, slowly losing herself in the soft notes, letting them float along with the light wind passing by.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The redhead sat on the couch in front of the small television, his feet propped up on the table before him with a lit cigarette in his mouth, all the while his other hand played with his favourite lighter. There were, of course, better things he could have been playing with at the moment. But, he realized, 

as he shot a glance over to his blonde-haired companion, he couldn't have his cake and eat it too. His emerald green eyes lit up in amusement.

The said blonde-haired companion was sitting on his left. Unlike his own relaxed pose, this one was perched on the edge of the couch, hood up and eyes wide as he watched the movie playing before them. The blonde's tense knuckles gripped the seat while he bit his lip anxiously, and oh, was the redhead jealous. Hmph. These retarded movies always scared the crap outta his paranoid best friend, but for _some_ _reason_, he always came back for more. Dammit it all, if only _he_ could have the same effect on the blonde.

"_Did you see him?"_ A cute brunette panted on the screen, grabbing her friend's shoulders. _Pffft, the girls a moron. Probably learned to act off the internet._

"_No—I think he went upstairs. But Maki! Ash is gone!" _The brunette widened her eyes in horror. _Why won't they hurry up and die?_

"_No! We have to find him! What if he—AHHHHHH!" _

"SHIT!" The blonde swore loudly as he slammed himself backwards into the couch. His blue eyes, however, were still glued to the screen as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Axel rolled his eyes. "About bloody time."

Some loser with a machete and _really _bad haircut had jumped from the stairs, striking at the girls. Without even watching, he knew how the plot would work out: the killer would start with the horniest guy first—which meant Axel's luck would run out pretty fast, if he did say so himself. Then the same man-beast-freak-thing would go on to mutilate everyone save one person—usually the hottest girl—who would run away, but then later (or perhaps in a sequel), the killer would come back to finish off the job. _Holy crap, _he thought dryly, chewing lightly on his cigarette. _What a stupid, gay-ass movie._

And he hated gore.

He shot a sideways glance to his still-uneasy friend. The dumbass still hadn't moved forward from his spot. Sighing, he reached over and pulled off his friend's hood, revealing his tuft of blonde hair that scattered in every which direction. His friend straightened.

"What?" he said, indignantly.

"Roxas, you fag, it's just a stupid movie," Axel deadpanned, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"So?" Roxas retorted. "I can still watch." Axel snorted, picking up the remote and hit pause.

"Hey!" Roxas squared his jaw; his brows furrowed. Axel contemplated pushing Roxas's buttons even further, if he could get a pout out of the blondie.

He held the remote away from Roxas. "For the love of—_stop already._ You've watched _three_ hack-and-slash movies non-stop. It's almost three-friggin'-a.m!"

"Give-me-the-remote!" The enraged blonde swiped for the control, and missed; Axel smirked as he saw the boy ready to pounce. Ah… if only the circumstances were different… but wait.

Roxas jumped, elbowing him in the chest as he reached around for the remote.

"Friggin' idiot!! I wanna finish the movie!"

"Whatever. You just wanna see the hottie in the white shirt run through the rain at the end." Roxas glared.

"That's _you_, moron. I actually _care _about the _plot._" Axel rolled his eyes again—_this could go on forever._

"Whatever! Axel says bedtime!" And thinking fast, Axel went and shoved the remote down his own pants. _And there are better ways to spend the night. _

Roxas froze. Almost as if he knew what his friend was thinking.

Axel grinned with amusement, "Come get it now, if you want it so bad."

Roxas retreated sulkily and regained his composure. "_No-friggin'-way._" He threw him a would-be withering look, had it not been mixed with disturbance. Axel flicked his eyebrows up mischievously, and responded with,

"Bedtime then, _sweetheart_."

Roxas stood up quickly, and glared at him.

"Screw you," he said, as he stormed over to the TV, and hit the play button. "If you don't want to watch, then you can take your stupid, ugly ass outside." Axel raised an eyebrow. _Awww. Roxas is getting all huffy._

"How do _you_ know it's ugly? I haven't invited you to look—well not yet, anyways," he added slyly. Roxas grumbled something he didn't understand, and shot him a death glare as he seated himself back on the couch. Axel heaved a dramatic sigh.

"_Fine._ I'll just leave; I know where I'm not wanted." He stood up and headed for the door.

Roxas shifted uncomfortably. "Dude, I didn't mean—"

Axel laughed. "I'll see in a few, okay?" He then tossed the remote towards Roxas, which he caught single-handedly. But then his eyes widened in horror and he dropped it, knowing full well where it had been moments ago.

After a moment's pause in which Roxas wiped his hands clean, he muttered reluctantly, "Yeah, just be careful."

"Don't worry, "Axel offered cheerfully. "If there are any psycho butchers on the rampage, you'll hear my finger nails clawing on the door as my brains leak out from my nose."

"Haha. Very funny."

"You should see it from the door crack, before he barges in," Axel warned theatrically. Roxas backed into the couch at this, trying to look annoyed. But the chalky colour of his face gave it all away.

"Ju-just go."

Axel laughed; the blondie was so _cute _when he tried to act all tough. Shaking his red hair as he stepped outside, he closed the door on the loud screams and massacre coming from within.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The cool, night air was refreshing, Axel had to admit. He was feeling nauseated after sitting through three—_three—_horror movies straight. As much as he enjoyed Roxas' company, crazy mad men who butchered their victims like pigs in a meat factory was just not his thing. Only a few days to go before they reached their destination, and Roxas was pissing himself scared. Idiot.

He threw a look over his shoulder, before deciding to take out his lighter, and noticed that the room next door had turned off its lights—_guess Demyx and Xiggy are asleep. Huh._ He shrugged and went back to looking over the parking lot, a small flame ignited in his hand. A cold breeze clawed past him, killing the flame—holy _shit_, stupid Roxas just _had _to kick him out.

Leaning against the railway outside their room, Axel stood with now only light breezes passing by, watching the wispy summer clouds simmer past the moonlight. Axel wrapped his arms around himself, wearing only a white undershirt and black sleeper pants. It could have been rather romantic—he supposed—if he just had…

… Ah. His vision had strayed towards the end of the walkway, a silver glint catching his eye. _That skirt could do quite nicely._

It was the blondie. The same wussy one who had been scared of big bad Axel breathing fire down her neck. _Pfffft_; at least she was smart. She stood against the moonlight, playing a silver flute gently. A small smile crept on to his lips, as his bright green eyes narrowed. Her own eyes were closed—_too bad; little blondie doesn't know what's coming_.

Slipping over subtly, he began to saunter down the railed walkway towards her. An obvious blonde—she didn't even notice him approaching as she was so caught up in her music. Not that Axel had anything against blondes. They seemed to attract him like flies to friggin' shit.

As he moved closer, he could hear the soft notes more clearly. Her delicate fingers moved over the holes, but not as effortlessly as he was expecting. A newbie, he assumed.

Axel contemplated saying something, but decided she might not even hear him—completely ruining the effect. Where would the fun be in that?

She suddenly stopped playing. She threw a cautious glance over either side of her shoulders. "Hello?"

Axel smirked.

As he waited in the shadows, he took in her form. She was petite; her limbs slender and lean. _Not much of a chest though,_ he noticed disappointedly. Her hair was smooth and fell in light strands around her face, sheltering her eyes. She was clothed in tank top and sleeper pants, deliciously revealing the paleness of her arms and shoulders. _Cute._ He watched as she raised her flute back up to her pale pink lips, and resumed playing.

_Roxas needs to learn the definition of _real_ fun._

He softly approached her from behind, keeping his breathing quiet. Once he stood towering over her, he leaned over, and blew softly on her neck.

She jumped. Before she could do anything else, Axel had wound one arm around her waist, the other quickly muffling her cry.

"Mmphh!" The blonde struggled against him briefly; Axel, laughing quietly, whipped her around, hand still covering her mouth.

"Shhhh! Don't want to wake anyone up, now do we?" he was smirking, but his eyes had narrowed. Her reaction had amused him. _Nice entrance._

The girl visibly stiffened, and just as quickly, smacked his arm away.

"What do you want?" her voice quiet, shaking slightly. He could tell she was trying to retain her composure. Oh, this was going to be fun all right.

Axel mocked an innocent smile. "Well, hun, I just thought you might want some company." His voice teased, "Didn't know little girls went out to play after dark…" He raised his fire-red eyebrows expectantly. "So, little blondie, now that I'm here, what do you want to play?"

She threw him a look of disgust. "I have a _name_."

Axel laughed at her weak attempt at boldness. Ah, the shy ones were always an easy target. Leaning in close, he whispered,

"Oh? Well babe, care to share?" She looked away. "Oh, come on, I told you _mine._ _Remember?"_ he chastised.

"N-Naminé. And I remember you—_Axel._" He reached up and ruffled her hair.

"Good girl." Naminé scowled, and he caught her glancing at something further along behind him. A door.

"Ah… so that's where the little princess's guards are hiding, hmm?" he said, catching on. Yeah, Axel remembered them. The auburn chick and the puny little brown-haired fag that had interrupted his fun.

"_What_ do you _want?_" Naminé emphasized, taking a step back. She clutched her flute close to her chest. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm not interested in the tube."

"That's _Naminé_!" It was clear she was becoming flustered—and he was enjoying every minute of it.

Axel shook out his fire-red hair, and sprawled out against the railway behind him, resting his hands down as well. Too bad he was in her way—she couldn't leave now. Behind her was a solid dead end, or the narrow path he'd created for her past him. _Yes… too bad indeed._

Naminé, however, was maintaining her distance. She watched him warily, while her body remained tense.

"C'mon, relax, will ya? I won't bite." He flashed his teeth, before raising an eyebrow. Naminé shifted. "So, what _are_ you doing out here? And at three in the morning?"

The small blonde sighed, and averted her gaze. No doubt she was confused by him—making small talk, all the while practically leering down at her.

"What's it to you?" she answered, returning with a glare. Ooh. Touchy.

Axel huffed. "Just _asking._" He pulled out a cigarette, and began to light it. He noticed her glaring at him with disgust.

"Want one?" he asked casually, offering her the pack. If she was gonna go ahead and friggin' _stare_.

"No thanks," Naminé answered, miffed.

"You still haven't answered my first question."

"And _you_ haven't answered mine," she retorted, and then turned away. "Get lost."

"Wow—bitch much?" Axel muttered. He could only control his language for so long, dammit. Naminé rubbed her temples.

"Look, I don't need this—not now. If you could just—" she froze. In the blink of an eye, Axel was standing before her, his hand cupping her face.

"Not feeling well?" he whispered with mock-concern into her ear. He slowly pulled his head back, lips lightly grazing her jaw line. He was holding his cigarette in his other hand between his first two fingers, while the rest trailed their way down her bare arm. Naminé's breathing was uneven, and her muscles had tensed. His fingers came to rest on her elbow, and he slid them around until his arm encircled her waist. He tugged her until she was uncomfortably close, and she squirmed.

She stopped moving, and when his green eyes met her blue ones, he saw that they had widened in fear. Being so close to her, his eyes flicked to her lips before he met her eyes intensely. He put on his most devastating smile.

"Let me help you feel better, hm?"

Naminé started to shrink away from him, but he was still holding on to her arm. Heh—worked every friggin' time. People scare _way _too easily… he could remember this for Roxas, later. Leaning in closer, Axel couldn't resist a smirk.

"I—"

"She's feeling _fine. _Now get lost." Harsh words ripped through the curtain of Axel's enjoyment. Dammit all, and the show had just begun.

Naminé started and stiffened in his grip; if possible, her eyes got even wider. Axel eased a glance over his shoulder, unperturbed. He rolled his eyes mentally. _Bloody friggin' brilliant._

"Come to join the party?" he said, breezily. He watched as the owner of the deep voice shifted into his view. Long, silver hair framed his face in a harsh cut; his deep aqua eyes pierced through the darkness. He was dressed in a baggy, sleeve-less navy blue shirt, with grey flannel pants.

"R-Riku!" Naminé squeaked. _Ah, Riku._ Wasn't this loser from the motel lobby, too? _Yeah… and there was another blonde there as well…_ Hmm… if the rest decided to show up…

He noticed Riku taking slow, careful steps towards him, one fist clenching and unclenching at his side.

Axel sighed, and calmly released her from his arms. But not before throwing in, "Too bad—and it was just getting started." He looked over at her, and caught her sapphire eyes with his own. _Guess the fun is over._ _Well… _Swiftly, Axel dipped forwards and snatched her right hand, raising it to his lips. "Maybe next time, then, huh?" he said, as his lips brushed her knuckles.

Before he knew it, he was shoved up against one of the pillars aligned with the railing, an arm fiercely pinning him across the chest.

"You—!"

Axel laughed derisively. _Damn…If looks could kill…_

"Riku!" Naminé whispered urgently. She glanced around her, seeing if they had caused a commotion. Riku still hadn't let go of him, his eyes hard and inflamed with anger.

"What's wrong—was I playing on private property?" Riku shoved him further, taking the wind out of him.

"Shut up!" Axel couldn't resist a grin; his breathing was shallower, and it was becoming difficult to form any more words, but he was clearly enjoying himself.

"_Riku_!" He watched as Naminé placed a gentle, yet firm hand on Riku's bicep, trying to pull him away. "Please!"

After a moment's pause, he let go. Riku bowed his head, silver wisps covering his eyes, and tried to level his breathing.

"Get out."

Axel brushed himself off and smirked. "I _am_ outside." _Dumbass._

"Just _go_!" he hissed, taking a step closer.

Axel took one last drag of his smoke, while shoving his left hand carelessly into his pocket, and said,

"Relax, man. I was done with her anyways. She's all yours now." With that, he threw the cigarette stick on the ground, and crushed it with his shoe. He flipped Naminé a wink.

"See you around."

He turned around and headed back to his room—_I think I've been outside damn long enough, anyways—_and left them to watch his retreating back.

* * *

LiD

* * *

Riku and Naminé stood facing the direction Axel had left, and an ominous silence had fallen around them. Inside though, Riku was reeling. _Hell—_

He whirled around, his eyes bright and livid.

"What were you _doing_ out here? _Alone_?" he breathed. Naminé stepped back, searching desperately for words. She quickly averted her eyes.

"I-I was just—" she stammered. He barely noticed that her right hand was tucked behind her back, the other rubbing her shoulder awkwardly.

"What is _wrong_ with you? We're in a friggin' _motel_! Not a hotel suite!" he stormed, taking a step forward. His anger and frustration were reaching their peaks—_Damn!_ He was pissed. Pissed 'cause people weren't leaving him alone. Pissed 'cause his father was rallying his _friends_ against him. Pissed 'cause Naminé had scared the _crap_ out of him! Blind rage shrouded his mind—the way he had found Axel dangerously close to Naminé, towering over her, feeling her up like she was his—his—_Argh!_ He should've punched that asshole while he had the chance! He listened to his own blood pound through his ears, as he continued to rant, "Did you _want_ to be kidnapped or something?"

Naminé said nothing. She had hidden her eyes beneath her long bangs, shifting slightly. _Ugh! _He felt like pulling out his hair. He exhaled slowly, fighting to control his temper.

"Naminé. Look at me."

She didn't move.

"Naminé!" he seethed, frustrated. She budged—he noticed her breathing was shallow but still, she would not meet his eyes. She quickly made to move past him, grabbing a fistful of her pants tensely.

_Oh no you don't._ He wanted answers, dammit. He grabbed her upper arm, and pulled her back to face him.

"Leave me alone!" she cried suddenly.

Riku started.

Her ocean-blue eyes had narrowed; a slight sheen glazed them, making them sparkle in the dark night. Her pale face was now flushed, and her breathing ragged. He realized she was trying to avoid crying.

Riku huffed. "No! We didn't get a single room, so you could go strolling around after dark, _alone_, and almost get jumped by a guy who could've easily taken off with you, dammit!"

Naminé was shaking in his grip.

"I'm not a _kid_, damn you!" Even though he was surprised at her sudden defensiveness, he brushed it off.

"Then stop acting like one!"

"You didn't even know why—"

"Then why don't you _tell_ me? Huh?"

He was still holding on to her. Naminé stared back at him, her mouth set in a grim line.

"It-it's nothing. Just forget it," she said, her voice hard.

Once again, Naminé averted her gaze. Sudden quiet enveloped them, as they stood facing one another. A few strands of Riku's own hair had fallen into his eyes, but he made no effort to shake them away. He watched Naminé fiddle with the hem of her tank, before bringing his eyes to look at the rest of her. He saw that her eyes were brimmed pink, slight shadows lining beneath them. Her shoulders were slumped, her hair disheveled… and suddenly, he felt as tired as she looked. _Damn…_ this was getting to be a long night.

He hadn't been able to sleep before, even though he had managed some when he heard a weird, soft tune in his mind. He had been pretty sure it was his imagination—_where else could that have come from?_ It had temporarily lulled him to sleep before being awoken by soft voices coming from outside his window. When he had opened it a crack to see who was talking, he had been surprised to see the 

redhead standing a little ways down the walkway. But that's not what had stunned him—a tuft of blonde had shifted in and out of his view.

_Tidus?_ He had thought. He swiveled around—no, Tidus was still sprawled in his bed, with Sora sleeping soundlessly in the other direction.

But that meant…

He had looked over to Kairi's bed. _Damn._

Naminé.

He had jumped off the couch, quickly glancing at the bathroom—_nope, not there either_—before making his way silently towards the door, a mix of fear and anger building in his gut. _Why the hell isn't she in bed?_ He had thought vehemently. He stepped outside only to be greeted with a sight that made him sick in his stomach. Not only had he felt angry and worried, but also…

Why was _he_ always the one she avoided?

"Riku?"

What had he ever done to her? He had known her before, he'd known her longer than… and she couldn't… she _wouldn't_ even _talk _to him…

"R-Riku?" the timid voice diverted his attention. His eyes caught her startling blue ones.

"What is it about me that has you so damn quiet all the time?" he asked in a slight daze, his voice barely above a whisper. Whether he was asking himself or Naminé, he couldn't tell. _Am I really _that_ intimidating?_ He'd never thought so, but…what could he do?

Riku blinked. It was then that he noticed he still had her arm in his rather tight grip, leaving both their flesh very white. He loosened his hold. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Naminé, who had been peering anxiously up at him, looked away, a light blush accenting her moonlit cheeks. He noticed she still had one hand tucked behind her, shifting uncomfortably.

"Your sketchbook?" he asked quietly, rubbing his neck. Had she come out to draw? She must've been feeling restless then…

Naminé shook her head, her soft hair framing her face. "N-no."

He sighed then and dropped her arm. Riku rubbed his face before running a hand through his locks.

"Are you all right?" But Naminé held her own question in her eyes, as she peered at his face.

"Are _you_?" she asked quietly.

This time, it was his turn to look away.

"It's been a long day—or night, I guess," answered Riku, his left hand shoved into his pocket. He looked over to the parking lot and their surroundings briefly, before coming back to rest his eyes on her. Naminé cleared her throat.

"I…uh—well, wasn't feeling very well… so I came out here."

"How come?"

Naminé blinked. "Um… for some fresh air?"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I meant, how come you weren't feeling well? Are you sick?"

Naminé shrugged, and inclined her head. Riku waited, but still she didn't say anything. He sighed. Shaking his head, he raised his free hand and flicked a lock of hair out of her eyes. Naminé started; she glanced up at him, but he was already turning away.

"Come on Naminé. We still have to get up lat—"

"Pla-playing helps me feel better."

Riku paused. He turned to look at her, and was surprised to see a long, thin, silver instrument clutched in her hands. She was chewing on her bottom lip. _So that's what she was hiding._ And_ that's where that music was coming from,_ he realized.

He leaned in closer, and arched an eyebrow. "How long have you been playing?"

She blushed. "Not long. I needed a second major, so I chose instrumentals." She coughed. "Dancing, drama, and singing… they're just not my thing."

Riku's mouth quirked. "I believe it." A pause. "Why the flute?" _Funny, it suits her too…_

Naminé's gaze shifted; she opened her mouth, but then closed it, apparently changing her mind. "It was…a gift," she answered with finality. And that was that. She lowered her darkened eyes and began to disassemble the silver flute. "We should go inside now."

Riku bristled. _I didn't start the conversation here…_ and now she was brushing him off? Well, fine then.

"After you," he said, stepping aside to let her pass. Remnants of the previous event began to swirl in his mind—he'd be damned if he was going to let her stay out here alone again.

Naminé caught his intention, and threw him a brief glare, before walking past. _"I'm not a _kid Yeah, well, she was naïve as hell, and… Riku grimaced. Were they not just having a light conversation only a moment ago? _Feisty girl… she's more like Kairi than one would think._

Shaking his head and rubbing his neck, he made to follow her in, but not before glancing around to make sure the fiery redhead was nowhere in sight.

* * *

**A/N**: I hope you all enjoyed it! Woohoo! I had so much fun writing this chapter. Please review :)


	6. Whiplashed

**A/N**: Sorry for the long wait guys! I was super busy, but I hope you enjoy this _extra_ long chapter in apology. :-) I hope you guys like it. Now that I get to include more perspectives, the chapters will definitely be a bit longer. Hope you guys don't mind too much. XD

And much love goes out to all those who reviewed! Thank you! xoxo

XX-diamonds-XX

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer: **Nope! I own nothing! All belongs to Disney and Square-enix!

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Six_: Whiplashed

* * *

From where he was lying on the cheap motel bed, Roxas could hear shuffling about. It was soft; almost as though it was _suppressed_. Wait… suppressed? Why would anyone try and hide it?! Unless… unless they were out to get him!

_Crap! _Roxas squealed mentally, curling up under his course blanket. _I'm gonna die! _In his mind's eye, Roxas saw a mad, rugged man with a chainsaw. No! The man was half-robot, and his arm _was _a chainsaw! And the other one was an axe! A _bloody _axe!

Wait! Blood?

_That means Axel's already dead! _

"No!" Roxas burst out, throwing off the covers and hurling himself over the side of the bed where he could hide. And be cornered by the hypothetical killer. Under the bed.

_Shit!_ Realizing his mistake, Roxas began madly flapping about, fighting against the bonds of the blanket he had wrapped himself in. _Ahh! Killer! I'm gonna die, we're all gonna die! They're probably already dead! _

He squirmed, he writhed, he thrashed about until—

"Crap Roxas—whatever you're doing to yourself over there, _stop _already."

Forcing himself to a position where he could rest his chin on the bed, Roxas gaped at his friend.

"Demyx! _Dude_! You're _alive_?!" he cried, crawling back onto his bed in relief.

"What?" Demyx laughed and shook his head, sitting down on to Axel's bed. Axel grunted testily.Even though Demyx hadn't teased him—like Axel would have had he been awake—Roxas still felt his cheeks go slightly pink. He covered it up by turning his back to his friends and moving to the couch, fiddling through his bags.

"What are you talking about?" Demyx prodded again. Roxas didn't answer to his friend's annoying prattles, though he could hear the mild concern in his voice. Demyx tried again, "_Well_?"

"Leave him alone. The kid pissed himself to sleep watching gore again last night," Axel grumbled, having been rudely awoken by Demyx's nattering.

"Hey!" Roxas snapped, turning to face his two best friends. At least now he could disguise the flushed cheeks for anger, something he had gotten habit of. "What the hell do you know? You just walked out—"

"And wasn't killed, _amazingly_, I know—" Axel cut in.

"I never thought that!"

Axel propped himself up on his elbows and laughed in a croaky, just-woke-up fashion. Before he could say anything though, Demyx raised a hand and cut in,

"Hey, hey let me get this straight: you went outside when Roxas was watching horror movies? C'mon man, you _know_ he needs someone to practically tuck him into his damn bed at night." Axel laughed again, collapsing his weight from his elbows and lying back down. Still laughing, Axel added,

"You shoulda seen him when I walked in! He was curled up like some friggin' cat, all twitchy and shit on the couch."

Roxas glared heatedly at the two, then swiveled back around, feeling his face burn. _Stupid Axel_—_figures_. Roxas remembered feeling the uncomfortable fabric of the crap-ass couch. That and falling asleep to the sound of what's-her-face's screams; who had been falling down a billion-story building after a machete had been jabbed through her repeatedly—only to be splattered when she hit the ground and have her remains crushed by downtown traffic.

Roxas remembered his step-sister saying something about being _"numb to violence"._ So not true. Roxas loved the adrenaline rush of fear every time a character was being hunted.

Focusing his attention back to the moment, Roxas realized it must have been Axel who had "tucked him in" that night if he'd ended up on his bed. Shuddering, Roxas grabbed a pair of boxers, a towel, some toothpaste and shower gel before making his way to the bathroom. The two idiots were still laughing and chucking out jokes about Roxas's sleeping habits. Pouting slightly as he closed the door, Roxas peeled off his clothes and showered quickly.

By the time he got out of the bathroom, Demyx had gone back to the other room to wake Xigbar—or _Xiggy_, as he preferred—leaving Axel still lying in his bed. He was flat on his back, hands folded behind his head and eyes wide open. Eyes wide open _and_ shifting his focus on _Roxas_. Roxas shifted uncomfortably. Axel raised an eyebrow at him from where he lay, and said,

"Demyx says we should hurry up, you know. We need time to practice as well." Roxas nodded absently, eyes looking anywhere but at Axel. Ugh. This wasn't going well, and if Roxas kept this up all the way till Twilight City, they weren't going to get anywhere. Not that they had expected too—they had formed their band, _Whiplash_, as a joke if anything. Well, it had been a joke when they entered the local talent competition, and it had been almost a joke when they won the _state _finals—hell, were they surprised.

Roxas supposed it had just stopped being funny when they were told that they were going to the Nationals, to represent the state. Since then, everyone had been taking things a bit more seriously; including Axel, which was strange for him to take _anything_ seriously, really.

Axel was one of his best-friends, hell, the whole band was close to him, but still… Roxas quickly moved to the dresser, not meeting his friend's eyes. _Why _hadn't he just brought clothes into the shower? Did he think it was totally okay to just friggin' _waltz _out of the shower in only boxers?

_Dumbass, dumbass, dumbass…_

Panicky again, Roxas grabbed the first pair of jeans he found and tried shoving them on. _Damn you, pants! Get _on! Why did he have to shake so much? Why couldn't he be totally cool about having no pants on, and even crack a few jokes with Axel? This was so stupid. Roxas had always been able to hold his own, but this?

Axel snorted.

"Want me to help you get your pants on? I'm already tucking you in at night, too."

Roxas growled in response, and trying to keep the defensiveness out of his voice, he said,

"I-I'm friggin' fine. Get your own ass up and put on some friggin' pants, stupid fag." Shit. Okay, so it was still defensive. He got his message across, right?

Axel chortled, getting up and making his way to the dresser. Roxas had finally gotten his grey jeans on properly, and was sitting bare-chested on his bed.

There was a soft thud against him, and Roxas immediately whirled.

"What the—" A shirt. Axel had tossed him a pale blue t-shirt, which Roxas quickly slipped on. Axel shot him an exasperated look as he leaned against the dresser. A strange look in his eyes, Axel said,

"Relax. I'm not gonna molest you or something."

Roxas flinched instinctively at the words, but tried to offer a sheepish smile. "Yeah I know, I was just… cold." He distinctly saw his best friend roll his eyes before stepping into the bathroom.

Moving to the dresser, Roxas tried to run a comb through his dark blond hair but to no avail. He didn't _get _it. Stupid, thick hair stuck up in every which direction, and no matter what he did, it'd never stay _down_. It always ended up looking like he had been holding a blow-dryer towards the back of his head at an angle, and like permanently _melted_ his friggin' hair that shape.

Scowling at his reflection, Roxas slammed the comb down after a bit and gave his head a violent shake. Fine. The sonuva bitch could be messy, but _Roxas _was gonna make it messy. Stupid, stupid hair.

Roxas grabbed a navy blue hoodie out of his duffel bag that was sitting on the couch next to Axel's. The more clothes he had on, the better, especially if _he_ was around to—

"Hey, 'scuse me."

Axel's arm reached around him, grabbing his own duffel bag. Roxas held his breath, feeling the warmth of Axel's arm against his stomach through his t-shirt. Fingers tensing on the hoodie in his hands, Roxas stiffened. Axel didn't need to take _that _long, did he? _Did _he? Why did he have to search through his bag, why couldn't he grab the whole damn thing and just _go_?

Roxas' breathing was growing short, goose bumps prickled his own skin, Roxas was _sure_ his face was lighting up—

"Here!" Roxas cried, grabbing Axel's bag and chucking it at him, all the while shifting so that he and Axel were face to face, instead of Axel's creeping arm from behind…

Roxas shuddered, and shoved his hoodie on. His face must still have been pink though when it emerged from the neck of the sweater though, because Axel was smirking at him. Axel was _always _laughing at him, jeez.

"Thanks," Axel said mildly as he pulled out a crimson sleeveless and tugged it on. Picking up Roxas's abandoned comb from the dresser, he ran it though his mane of red hair. Roxas watched somewhat enviously as the comb slid easily through the fiery locks, fitting exactly as Axel wanted it to. But then, Axel always spent a ridiculous amount of time grooming. Like a friggin' _girl _or something, he was so damn vain.

Roxas began stuffing everything back into his duffel bag, and asked,

"So where are we heading next?" Axel turned and tossed him a devilish smirk.

"We'll be meeting with an _acquaintance _of mine. He'll know somewhere to hang for the night."

Roxas grimaced warily. He'd heard enough stories of Axel's random 'acquaintances' to be suspicious.

"Who," he began. "Who is this person?"

"Oh, you'll love him. He's quite the character." It didn't comfort Roxas in the least.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Sora frowned at his friend as he watched him shove their bags into the back trunk. Ever since Sora had woken up this morning, Riku had been nothing but moody. Acidic, angry, or as Kairi put it, _man_-sulky. Riku had mentioned something about "what-happened-was-none-of-his-business", but knowing Riku, that only intrigued Sora further.

Sora sighed and made his way to the backseat. He really wished Riku would just 'fess up.

But then, Sora supposed he'd pried enough into Riku's little bubble yesterday and all. It wasn't _his_ fault though, Riku's dad had called him and asked him to… _c'mon, even Riku can't be that blind. His dad's worried._

Rolling his eyes mentally, Sora jumped into the backseat where the two girls were already sitting. This time Naminé was in the middle – Kairi was being sulky herself and wanted the "window" seat. Sora had pointed out that the whole damn car _was_ a window, but had just gotten punched in the arm for that.

Everything packed thoroughly away, the five were now cuddled up in Tidus's convertible. Tidus himself was still sleepy, having been rudely awoken at the crack of dawn by a kick to the face from Sora. Sora wasn't sorry in the least—the blond drummer had been using his big toe as a _pacifier, _dammit. Freakin' _gross_.

That was the last time he was sharing a bed with Tidus.

It was a good thing Kairi hadn't been awake, or she definitely would have snapped a photo for her collection. She had quite a few _compromising _ones already. Like the one with Tidus, practically snorting some fries he had wedged up his nose, as he dipped them in ketchup (he had, of course, thought no one was looking at the time). And then there was that one before formal, where Kairi – too klutzy herself – had forced a very awkward Sora to teach an even more awkward Riku to dance ("Dude!" Riku had whined. "You're like, _touching _me!" Sora and Kairi had sneered at Riku to just grow up; it _was_ to impress Riku's date, after all. Of course, _no one_ was to _ever_ know it had been Sora to teach him). Shuddering at the thought of those photos in the wrong hands, Sora felt the car start up.

Riku, still 'mansulky', was picking up his pace with the car. Frowning at the warning sign, Sora leaned over Naminé and said sharply but quietly to Riku,

"Dude; don't take out your anger on the car, 'kay?" Riku didn't respond, but he did slow down as they pulled into a more mainstream road. Sora leaned back into his seat, taking the orange that Naminé had passed to him. They hadn't had much time to grab a breakfast, as they had a bit of distance to cover till the next major place to stop in.

Glancing down, Sora realized with a smile that Naminé had peeled it for him already, and was spreading cream cheese over a bagel from the food bag for him as well.

"I can feed myself, you know," he said, not unkindly. He raised an eyebrow, a smirk in place. Naminé smiled vaguely back but didn't say anything, instead handing him the bagel. He glanced over at Kairi, who had also fallen asleep in the car, head lolled back and snoring loudly. _This is so a chance for payback._

Snickering, Sora pulled out his phone from his cargo pocket. Naminé raised an eyebrow at him, then looked to her sleeping sister. She giggled.

"Sleeping beauty," Sora mouthed out to Naminé with a wink as he took the shot. Kairi stirred a bit, but didn't wake up. Riku's eyes flicked to the rear view window, but he didn't say anything except,

"Wanna pass me an orange?" Naminé's smile waned a bit, but she complied and handed him a granola bar, along with his peeled orange, a buttered bagel and a juice pouch. Riku took them just as silently as Naminé handed them, and used the slumbering Tidus to hold it all.

The silence remained, perturbed only by Kairi or Tidus's snoring. Deciding to make light conversation, Sora asked Naminé,

"Does your sister always snore this loud?" Naminé smirked slightly, and responded with a wary glance towards her sister,

"Yeah. When we were kids, she'd come into my room to sleep because she was terrified of monsters. I'd wake up with bags under my eyes the next morning, but Kai _never _believed that _she _could _snore_." Naminé stuck out her tongue teasingly to her sleeping sister. Sora laughed,

"Damn; I'm so screwed if we ever end up living together."

"You're an only child, right?" Naminé inquired.

"Hmm…? Oh yeah – I wish I wasn't though. The only family I've got that's my age is Roxas," Sora laughed a bit here, and added, "Riku knows him! Right, Riku?" There was a shrug from Riku in the front, and Sora rolled his eyes. Yeesh, that's what he got for trying to include the guy in some conversation. But then, Roxas had never been exactly Riku's favourite topic – or person, for that matter.

Naminé brought Sora back into the conversation when she asked,

"Roxas?"

"Yeah, he's my cousin; from my late dad's side of the family. He's only a few months older than me – crap!" a thought occurred to Sora, and he quickly pulled out his cell phone and started clicking away. Naminé looked confused, and asked what he was doing as he was typing. He smiled brightly, and turned the phone so she could decipher his text message:

_Hey Roxas – happy birthday, man. I'm awesome; hope you are too. Buy yourself something nice from me. I'll pay you back next time we meet. :P_

Sora took the phone back, and responded to Naminé's questioning look, "He's turning sixteen – he's so friggin' smart though. Skipped a grade or something, so he's like going into grade twelve next year."

"Really?"

Sora nodded, beaming with pride. A slight laugh in his voice, he said, "Yeah, but he's a total prep. Was, anyways. I can't remember which, but he used to – oh! He actually used to go to Radiant Garden – for like, piano and drama I think – before he dropped out for normal school. Not exactly sure why, though."

"Radiant Garden? You sure?" Naminé asked, curiosity piqued. She furrowed her brow, no doubt trying to recall any faces. She asked, "What's he look like?"

"I dunno. Kinda like me, blonde hair, blue eyes… dressed like a total prep though. I'm talking polos, shades, brand name jeans… heh. But he's a good guy – I see him like two or three times a year. Same as ever; far as I know."

Sora paused for a moment, and flipped through his cell phone until he found a photo of his cousin. Roxas was flashing a million-dollar smile up at the camera, the familiar glint in his slightly darkened eyes. Sora, grinning cheesily, had one arm thrown casually over his shoulders, hand reaching around to pinch Roxas' cheek. Passing it to Naminé, he said, "Here's a picture." She glanced at it, and said,

"Hey! I think I recognize him!"

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah…" Naminé laughed sheepishly. "I saw him around on campus I think. I never really talked to him… we were pretty young. I was in my first year; you said he left, so I guess that's why I never saw him much after." Sora grinned,

"He's actually a lot quieter than me, amazingly." Naminé laughed lightly, and a comfortable lull fell into the conversation. Bored, Sora pulled out his cell phone once again; thoughts still on his cousin.

An actual phone call would have been more thoughtful, but he'd rather not wake up Kairi or Tidus right now, and if waited till later he'd most likely forget. That and a long distance call to Roxas' hometown would be damn expensive. Maybe Roxas would call him back from his home phone in D'Arc City – or City of the Arc, as some knew it for 

the impressive steel arc that spanned the inner city. Not that his cousin Roxas would care – he wasn't a temperamental person. That was probably why Sora and him got along so well on the rare occasion they got to see each other.

Sora sighed and put the phone away, leaning against the door. He wished he got to see his cousin more often, but ever since his dad had passed away…

… A blaring song with a strong, perpetual bass had pulled in nearby, interrupting Sora's thoughts.

"Hey, knew you couldn't stay away from us," a sharp voice gloated. Glancing over, Sora saw the blond, Demyx, and another, eye-patched man in the back seat of a convertible. In the front, he noticed a hooded, bundled up figure beside a flaming haired young man.

It was the one person who could only piss the already moody Riku off. The voice had belonged to none other than A-X-E-L. _Damn_.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

They had pulled up at a stoplight in a particularly busy intersection, and to the left of them were Axel's newest favourite people.

Axel couldn't help himself. Smirking, he glanced over at the other driver. _Riku_, yeah, that was his name. The silver-haired dude with a lot of anger issues. With a slight grimace, Axel remembered his expression of utter hatred towards him as he was slammed up against the pillar. _Dumbass._

Riku glared at him heatedly, and spat,

"What do _you_ want?" Axel smirked again and said,

"A little excitement would be nice."

Riku raised an eyebrow and replied, "Really? I woulda thought going around harassing chicks gave you plenty of action." Axel glared. Oh no, Riku was _so _not going there. Not letting the aqua-eyed teen know he'd pushed a button, Axel sneered,

"You want some action now?" Axel's raised a challenging eyebrow at Riku as he revved up his car.

Riku snorted in response, and focused his attention back on the road. The light still shone red, letting the cars pass across them. The spiky-haired loser spoke up,

"Don't be stupid, Riku," he warned. "Just ignore him." _What_? He was going to ignore _him_? Axel scowled. _I don't think so, buddy_.

"Listen to your lame-ass friends man. Fighting is just _wrong_," Axel mocked, voice going higher at the end in his false preaching. He saw Riku's knuckles grip the steering wheel tighter. In the back, Demyx caught on and added,

"Yeah! Why the hell would you actually _stand up _for yourself?"

"As soon as the red light changes," Riku seethed with a taut jaw. "We go, and I'm gonna leave you so far behind you won't even be able to kiss my ass."

"Riku!" the teen's friend protested. "I'm serious! Just let it go, man!" With his cry, the other blond sitting next to Riku had awoken.

"Wha—" the blond broke into a huge yawn. He looked as though he was about to say something, but…

… _Green. Too late._ And with that, Axel pressed the pedal to its full depth.

The car picked into full speed, whipping past buildings and even other vehicles. Beside him, Riku's convertible was keeping pace, the driver's eyes hard and focused. The road in front was being swallowed by the speeding cars. The buildings had melted away, and open landscape was throttling by them. Axel laughed, and pressed harder on the pedal.

Wind practically slapping his face, Axel heard Demyx cheering in the back, calling out,

"Come on, losers! What the frig' is the matter, _can't keep the hell up_?!"

They were past the water tower now, and the engines were so loud it challenged the music, with Demyx whooping over all of the noise. A familiar adrenaline racing through him, Axel couldn't resist a smirk as he saw the car beside him pull into a brief lead, before slackening a bit. _He's not gonna last long_.

Still speeding, Axel grinned when he heard the other car come to a squealing stop behind them. _Dumbass probably gave into his friends._ Whatever, his loss. As ecstatic as he was with the victory, Axel still groaned as he saw Demyx stand up in the back and roar,

"You just got _WHIPLASHED_!!"

There was a cry of pain, and Axel knew Demyx had been dragged back down by Xiggy. Xiggy grumbled, still upset with having been awoken,

"Friggin' lamewad. Sit your sorry ass down; wanna get pulled over?" Demyx didn't respond right away, but Axel saw him punch Xiggy in the chest.

"_What_?" Demyx snapped, struggling in Xiggy's headlock. "We'd get pulled over for me standing up, but not for Axel speeding like some sorta… friggin'… fast guy?" Xiggy raised an eyebrow, but ignored the terrible simile when he said,

"No, no one cares about the speeding. You were a moron up there; more than enough reason for the cops to come."

"Screw you."

"You wouldn't know how."

Smirking from the front, Axel said casually, "I can help you there."

The two in the back shut up immediately.

Axel rolled his eyes, attention now shifting to the blond beside him.

Roxas had fallen asleep again in the front, but was now sleepily coming to. _Figures. The dork could sleep through a damn hurricane. _Too many horror movies. Too much gore. Axel winced, feeling his stomach churn at the thought of slaughtered body parts. _Dammit_, what the _hell _was so great about hack-and-slash?

Roxas' hood had been pulled up, cascading all the way down to leave only tufts of blond hair and his lips exposed. Thin, pink, slightly cracked lips. Axel had constantly advised Roxas that he should use lip chap. But, of course, that was far too _girly _for Roxas; so his lips remained dry. Mmm… Axel could think of plenty of _other _ways to remedy that problem, though. All of which would only scare Roxas so far away that Axel would not – as Riku had so elegantly put it – be able to even kiss his ass.

Roxas sat up and yawned, casting a quizzical look at Axel.

"What just happened?" asked Roxas.

"Nothing, _precious_," Axel responded cheerfully. "You just go right back to sleeping tight." Roxas scowled – no, Axel swore it was almost a _pout_, crap – and Axel couldn't help but smile as he focused his attention back on the road. He did all of the driving for the trip, but on occasion Xiggy would as well. Axel didn't exactly trust his car in the hands of the 21-year-old tattoo artist/black market dealer, but what choice did he have? He needed sleep too.

Xiggy and Demyx were still bickering in the back, and Axel wouldn't be surprised if it escalated into an outright fistfight. _Faggots. They need to get off each other's case every once and while. _But then, Axel supposed he'd be sick of someone too if they lived in his basement. Not that Demyx's grandparents needed the extra income really, but they always felt sorry for people who needed cheap places to stay. Axel smiled in spite of himself at the thought of Demyx grandparents. Sweetest, most adorable old couple anyone would ever friggin' see.

His thoughts were disrupted by the blond beside him though. Roxas had pulled out a candy bar from his pocket, and was about to eat it when Axel cut in,

"Eww, Roxas; don't eat that crap in the morning."

"Then take us somewhere to eat, ass," Roxas snapped, eyes slightly red and swollen from having just been rudely awoken. Roxas took a bite of the candy bar anyways, and chewed on it aggressively, glaring out the front window. Axel smirked again, amused by his friend's irritable mood. He normally hated having food in his convertible, but today, was Roxas' _special _day, so Axel would make some exceptions.

Roxas was always grumpy when he woke up; he always had to sleep at least nine hours to be semi-happy; he had to have time to brush his hair (which he never could, but never gave up trying); had to brush his teeth with lemon-ice toothpaste; had to fold his blanket but never fix his sheets; had to have a naval orange, a strawberry jam sandwich, hot chocolate (no matter what, Roxas was always cold in the mornings) and half of an iced croissant with a dab of whip-cream on top…

Shaking his head, Axel stopped obsessively listing off all of his best friend's morning habits. If this kept up, Axel was going to die simply from waiting inside. _Not like you can say anything though. Not yet. _

Pulling into a drive-thru, Axel lit up a cigarette while he was waiting for their turn. Roxas gave him a sidelong glance, but didn't say anything. Well, didn't say anything until Axel gave a hacking, smoker's cough. Roxas grimaced in concern as he flipped his hood down and jammed his hands in the hoodie's pockets. He told Axel,

"You really shouldn't smoke so much, you know."

"Why the hell not? You do it too." Axel snapped, feeling defensive. It was his damned life.

Roxas quieted down, eyes dropping at the fierce fire in Axel's. Yeah, Roxas smoked too, but… it was only ever out of the need to calm his nerves. He could remember back when they'd first met, how Roxas had picked up the habit out of more of an image factor than anything else. Pshht… Roxas was always like that. A slight twinge of guilt pricked Axel, remembering it _had _been he and Demyx to introduce poor innocent Roxas to the world of cancer sticks and booze (and a whole lotta other crap at that).

Roxas was sitting tilted away from him, eyes staring out the window. Axel silently cursed himself; snapping at a friend wasn't the best way to start the day. But too proud to repair the damage, Axel just leaned over the side of his convertible when the voice box asked,

"How may I help you?"

Axel quickly listed off breakfast for the four of them, and pulled up to the window to get the food. Passing breakfast to the group, Axel was about to pull out of the drive-thru when—

_Slam_.

"What the hell?!" Axel roared at the car in front. It had stopped so suddenly, Axel had to slam on the breaks to not collide. "Friggin _idiot_!"

Seething, he nearly pounded the steering wheel when he saw some stupid gay-ass jump out of the van in front and run back to the drive-thru window.

Frustration still clouding his mind, he was pulled out with a mild moan from beside him. Turning, he saw Roxas dabbing the sleeve of his sweater at his thigh—the sudden stop had caused the still burning hot coffee to slosh through the opening on the cup, and some of it spilled on his pants. Axel winced for his friend—burns sucked major ass. Axel had played with fire long enough to know that.

Axel pulled out some tissues from a box nearby, and gently helped wipe Roxas' pant leg clean.

"Sorry about that," Axel mumbled, not meeting Roxas' eyes. Roxas was now resting a hand on his scalded thigh, but was grinning for his friend's sake. Roxas was in pain, because of some idiot in some damn van in front of them and Axel could have… he was gonna…

"It's all right," Roxas laughed, voice surprisingly casual. "It's not your fault old farts can't drive."

"Yeah," Xiggy agreed vaguely. "Old people suck."

"Hey!" Demyx cried out defensively, shoving the older man. "You _live_ in my grandparents basement, dumbass!" Xiggy bowed his head.

In spite of himself, Axel met Roxas' eyes and smirked too. Roxas, Axel told himself for the millionth time in his life, had the _bluest _eyes, had the most subtle _glint… _not a sparkle, but this shimmer of emotion… Axel wondered what they'd look like with eyeliner. His friend wasn't into that "drag-queen, gay-ass shit" (Roxas was always cute when he got defensive like that) as he put it, but Axel could imagine. Not that it mattered anyways – Roxas was adorable as he was…

… Without really thinking, Axel's hand was resting on where Roxas thigh had been burned. Over Roxas' own hand. Axel wasn't even able to process the emotion—if he had, he might have exploded or something from it all—but he was practically _holding hands _on Roxas' _thigh._

For the briefest moment, Axel thanked the stupid old man that couldn't drive.

But alas, the moment did not live any longer than it was born. A panicked expression flashed on Roxas' face, and the blond quickly pulled his hand away, masking it by running his hand through his hair.

"W-wonder what's, um, holding up… the… um… line, thing…" Roxas had gone very pink as he said this, as always. Flipping up the hood of his sweater again, Roxas retreated into it. Again, only from his lips down could be seen. In a contradiction of what Roxas had just said to Axel, Roxas reached into his own pocket and pulled out a lighter and a smoke.

_Ah crap_.

Axel watched Roxas for a moment, contemplating on whether or not he should pull the cigarette out of his mouth. And as cute as it may look, Axel hated seeing that nicotine stick jutting out from Roxas' lips. Axel didn't want _Roxas _to die of smoking, dammit. That would suck ass more than himself dying.

Not knowing what else to do, Axel mentally sighed and pulled out another cigarette. _Shit._

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The car came to a squealing stop, much to Kairi's gratitude. She'd awoken when her head had done a full-whiplash—what had that loser with the faux-hawk cried out? Oh, right – _"You just got WHIPLASHED!!" _What a lame-ass. Seriously.

Groaning and rubbing her neck, Kairi adjusted herself in the leather seats of the convertible. Riku was in the front, seething and resting his head on the steering wheel; Naminé was looking horrified, gripping the seat; Tidus too looked like he had just woken up, and Sora? Well… Sora looked almost as pissed as Riku—he was glaring at his friend so hard that even the upcoming storm wouldn't weather it.

Kairi said aloud, "What the heck just happened here, _huh_?" Irritated at having been woken up, Kairi began trying to comb through her auburn hair with her fingers, pushing it into a ponytail. Glaring, she was startled when Sora snapped at her,

"Look Kairi. Just—" Whatever Sora was going to say to her, he got cut off when Riku practically kicked open his door. _Yeesh, what's _his_ problem_? Riku slammed the door behind him, scowl written on his face, and stormed off. Sora shot up from his seat.

"Riku!"

"Hey!" Kairi cried, getting up as well. "Riku?! Wha—get back here!" She threw Sora an incredulous expression. The _hell_? Why wasn't anyone explaining anything?! She noticed that they had pulled over alongside a bland, dry landscape. Beside them stood countless trees, lining the raised road against gentle hills. After the dip, there stretched endless fields of wheat in the rising sun, the stalks practically glowing golden with the sun's rays.

They watched Riku storm off past the trees, his silver head disappearing beyond the small hill and somewhere into the distant fields. _Oh yeah, the farmer was _so_ not gonna be pissed at that_, Kairi thought sarcastically. She made to jump over the door and go after him but—

"Riku!" Sora called out again, jumping over the door. Kairi gripped his arm.

"Sora—wait! You can't find him alone in _this_ grass!" Stupid Riku, always trying to go at it alone…Kairi was about to climb over again, but Sora gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Kairi—he's not gonna talk—"

"Argh, it could take _forever_ to find him!" Kairi continued, ranting. "Of all the places we had to stop! That oaf—you know he's a damn good hider when he wants to be!" she steamed. Sora held Kairi's fierce glare for a moment, and she grudgingly quieted. Without looking behind her, she knew that Tidus and Naminé were sitting attentively. Sora broke the brief silence.

"I know," he said softly. He looked over his shoulder, his gaze distant over the mass of wheat before them, rippling with the passing wind. "He always has been."

Kairi watched his eyes as they came back to rest on her.

"I'll go talk to him," he said.

She hesitated, searching her surroundings, before nodding in understanding. _Argh… fine… _Sora _was_ his best friend, after all.

And with that, Sora walked past the trees, and began the small descent downwards.

Kairi sighed; Riku could be so childish sometimes. At times like these, she just didn't know what to do with him. Kairi hoped he was okay, though. _Trust Sora._ It was their common link with Sora that their friendship had even developed. Other than that, she doubted that she and Riku would have ever spoken to each other.

Naminé coughed. Her attention was suddenly drawn back to the convertible, catching Tidus and Naminé's expressions for the first time since Riku's _graceful_ exit.

"_Dude_… what the hell?"

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Riku shoved wheat aside, kicking his way through the fields. Anger was pounding through his veins; his vision was blurred with fury. _Dammit. What the hell were you thinking? You could have crashed the car, you could have hurt them, you could have… _you've no control_… none at all_… Riku let out a roar of frustration and punched a tree he'd come across. He had stopped suddenly during the race, when the image of his father flickered before his eyes. Feeling exhausted, Riku sank to his knees, hating himself even more as his father's words came pouring out to taunt him.

"_Just like your old man," his father chortled, hands on the steering wheel. Riku glared out the window, not knowing how to respond._

"_I—you… don't ever…" His father laughed again, pulling into their driveway. Getting out of the car, he raised an eyebrow at his son, who was still seething in the passenger seat. _

"_Get a grip, son. You've got no direction in life, none at all."_

"_Yeah I do! I wanna do something with my life, not just throw it away to make money."_

"_Now you listen here son: I work for a living to provide for you now and provided for your late mother then…"_

"_Don't even bring her into this!"_

"_Riku! I have every right to speak of her; she was my wife! Don't you… argh! Think about someone else instead of your own damn self for once!"_

"_Me? What about you? If you weren't so caught up in your work, mom wouldn't always have had to run your errands for you!"_

"_Dammit Riku, she was going to the grocery store. Just like any other damn day!"_

_Riku couldn't take it anymore. He leapt out of the car and stormed to the front door, shaking with anger. What he'd give to hit something… right now…_

"_Riku! Get back here! It's not—I didn't… nobody can…" his father's words were lost on Riku, and the silver-haired teen made his way inside the house, racing to his room. He didn't need this, he didn't need this…_

"Hey."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Riku jerked his head up.

"Sora—just… get lost. I don't need this right now," he seethed, still lost in his irate memories. His head tilted to the ground again, silver wisps of hair falling into his eyes. His friend didn't move, instead crouching down next to him. His hand still on Riku's shoulder, the teen asked softly,

"Why'd you do it?"

Riku smacked Sora's hand away and stood up, walking away so his back was to his best friend. Crossing his arms, he managed to say,

"I don't know."

Sora laughed softly, and sprawled out on the ground behind him. Thoughtfully, he said,

"Yeah, you do." Riku sighed and said bitterly,

"Because I have no control. I saw him and I… just flipped, okay? I—I… you…" Riku hung his head, unfolding his arms. "Sorry."

"What did he do anyways?"

"He… last night…" Riku hesitated, though he knew he couldn't keep it from Sora much longer anyways. He pried too much. _Or cares…_ Riku turned slightly, looking over his 

shoulder as he spoke, "I came outside, and he was all over Naminé. I dunno—I just…" Riku studied his hands, continuing, "… I was just ready to beat the crap out of him." Sora tilted his head sideways, watching his older friend.

"So that was it? Axel was just getting on your nerves?" Riku hung his head once again, feeling the intent of Sora's quizzical stare. _Damn, Sora knows me too well. _

"No… I…" Riku began.

"I'm sorry about getting on your case, man." Riku turned to his friend, and saw Sora motioning for Riku to come sit on a patch of grass nearby. To one side of them were the vast wheat fields they'd emerged from, and to the other was what looked like an enormous pasture.

"It – it's all right. My dad put you up to it, I know," Riku replied, sitting down next to Sora. Sora lay down, hands folded behind his head. He said,

"You know, he…" Sora cast a glance at Riku, and hearing no interruptions, he continued, "Your dad is just… freaking out a little, you know? His… you're all he's got left, and you just sort of… up and left." Riku yanked out a few blades of grass, and replied wearily,

"I… Sora, you… you don't get it." Raising an eyebrow, Sora propped himself up on his elbows to look at Riku.

"Riku… you know… I know what it's like to… not have… someone." Riku sighed again, not knowing how to explain what he was feeling. Yes, Sora had lost his own father at the age of two… but that had been… different.

"You… you never knew your…" Riku stopped himself, not wanting to rub any salt in Sora's hidden wounds. "Like, your family has moved on, you know?" _Your world was left in peace…_

"And you still miss your mom?"

"Yea–no Sora—I mean, she – she's gone, and I can accept that… but…" Riku tried again, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I… my mom… she was everything with my family. My dad and I never got along without her. And now – and now that she's gone, it's like…"

"Like the family's gone too, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Riku replied, his eyes drifting to the horizon over the pasture.

Riku's words trailed off, and Sora threw him a thoughtful glance before finally nodding in understanding. Riku felt relieved, not having to entirely explain himself. That was one of the benefits of having a childhood friend he supposed. Sora was lying back down, and Riku stretched out next to him. Seeing Riku playing with the grass, Sora plucked his own, larger blade out from the ground.

"Remember when we were still with Scouts? You know, they taught us how to make grass whistles?" Riku smirked—he did remember. They had both been expert campers by the end of it; this was the first summer they would not be returning even as camp counselors.

Sora pressed the blade of grass with his thumb, and leaning in, he blew gently. A soft, whirring sort of whistle floated from it, and a flood of memories washed over Riku. Suddenly laughing at the memory of him and Sora getting lost and having nothing to do but grass whistle, Riku blew on his own blade of grass. The two broke out laughing, and Riku felt the warm country air, the smell of fresh wheat, heard his childhood friend's laughter…

… Suddenly, nothing really mattered. Everything was calm, and still. With a cheesy grin, Sora said,

"Remember—remember the last time we were out on a field like this?" Riku laughed at the memory, and replied,

"I think that was the best time our campers had. Gotta love them crop circles."

Sora's eyes widened with excitement. "I can't believe we got away with it! And everyone was so impressed!"

"Pfffft—you didn't even want to do it at first," Riku smirked.

"Heh, yeah, but it was all harmless fun, right?"

"_Harmless fun_? Yeah, until we took that picture of it and sold it to the local paper."

"Dude! We made so much munny from that shot!"

"But then the farmer found out and ratted us out, remember? He was so pissed, he nearly took my head off!"

"You do bring out the worst in things, Riku."

"Stupid punk!"

Laughing, Riku sat up and punched Sora in the chest. Sora mock-groaned in pain, then tripped Riku. Within moments, the boys were locked in a spontaneous wrestling match. A rustling was nearby however, and Riku and Sora froze. Riku had Sora pinned down with one knee on his back and Sora's other arm twisted behind his back, but Sora had a firm grip on Riku's forearm. Letting go, Riku sauntered over to the wheat fields.

"Hello?" he asked. "Is any—"

"You kids!" a grouchy old man cried out, emerging from the stalk and waving a pitchfork around. His worn-out overalls and straw hat gave away his position. "Teenagers! Can't stay off 'a _Private Property!_ Git the hell off ma farm, or I'm calling 

the police!" Riku raised an eyebrow, and Sora had already jumped to his feet, hastily brushing grass out of his hair,

"Sorry sir! We didn't know that you were here, we'll just be—"

"I said _GIT OFF!_" Quickly, Sora shoved Riku and the two were smashing through the wheat, being hounded by a mad old farmer with a pitchfork. Laughing, they managed to stumble onto the road (only having knocked over two scarecrows in their scramble), leaving a fuming man behind them. Grabbing Sora by the arm, the two fumbled along until they reached the convertible. Kairi, Naminé and Tidus quickly halted the conversation they had been having, and raised their eyebrows at the two. They wore the funniest expression, completely identical.

"What's with the grass?" Tidus asked as Riku jumped into the passenger seat. About time he got a break from driving, yeesh. Riku combed his hands through his silver locks, and laughed, feeling lighter than he had all day.

"Mad farmer tried to kill us," Riku said, sharing a goofy grin with Sora.

Tidus nodded, as though that explained everything, and started the car once Sora had settled himself back in the car. Naminé was sitting behind Riku, and Sora was back in the middle. Kairi had preoccupied herself with picking the grass out of her boyfriend's hair, which he tried to block off by kissing her hands. Kairi wasn't the best defender either.

Riku rolled his eyes at the cutesy-ness of the couple behind him, but smirked in spite of himself. If Sora could cheer him up, then the kid deserved a bit of time with his girlfriend. Rolling his eyes once again, Riku leaned his seat back, hands folded behind his head. From her seat "above" him, Naminé locked eyes briefly with him before he slipped his sunglasses on. There was the strangest expression in her eyes; the most flickering question.

Tidus broke the moment however, when he piped up while he was driving,

"Wait… so where to now?" Riku sighed and yanked the still-open map towards him. Glancing at it, he responded,

"Uh… to some place called Sandsea."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Now back on the highway, the wind whipping past Axel's convertible had helped to soothe the scald on Roxas' thigh. It was still sticky, but Roxas was more than willing to wait till he got some privacy until he changed. Especially after he and Axel had almost held… bleh.

Roxas couldn't even finish the thought, he was so disturbed.

He had noticed that today, Axel was being friendlier than usual… well, Axel wasn't as mocking, as teasing, or as suggestive as his usual self. Not that Roxas minded _that_ Axel—he was the one that Roxas had first met, three years ago, after all.

Roxas grimaced to himself, remembering the odd beginning of their friendship. Roxas had dropped out of the prep art academy—_Radiant Garden_, or something like that—and had begged his father and stepmother to let him go to "normal school". They hadn't been happy—his family had a reputation to keep up, and some inner-city public school just wouldn't do—but in the end Roxas won. Mostly because he threatened to start failing all of his classes and wreak havoc on the academy, but all the same, he won, right?

Too bad things hadn't gone exactly as planned. Well, that was where Axel and Demyx had come in—even now, three years later, Roxas appreciated what they'd done for him in the long run.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel said mildly, pulling onto a more obscure road. It was afternoon right now, and they were probably gonna pull over again to eat something Demyx had packed. No one would mind—Demyx was a pretty damn good cook, and he knew it too. "How's your leg?" Roxas shifted uncomfortably, and gave a hasty,

"It's fine." He didn't need Axel doing his own examination of the leg. That could only end badly. _He's only looking out for you! _A voice argued. _Just like always!_ Roxas heard the voices in his head, and immediately felt soothed.

Yes, yes Axel was just being a good friend. A totally normal, totally cool friend who took care of his bandmates and drank and smoke and hit on _everybody…_ Roxas actually found comfort in that thought too. Axel was just horny. A horny, promiscuous bi-guy.

Not that Axel had ever come outright and said, "Hey guys, look at me! I'm bisexual! Y'all aren't homophobes, are ya?!" Naw, Axel still had yet to openly admit he was bi. But the rest of _Whiplash _had a very good suspicion of Axel's exceptionalexperimental" behavior. Roxas remembered the band rehersal well…

"_Yo, when's Axel gonna get here?" Demyx asked, strumming on his electric guitar. Xiggy, at the drum kit, snorted and said,_

"_Probably off screwing someone before coming to his buddies."_

_Roxas shifted uncomfortably. Xiggy said _someone_, not _some chick._ So maybe… maybe Xiggy was thinking the same thing Roxas had been? Fiddling with the tuners on his bass, Roxas asked, staring at the floor,_

"_Guys… do you think Axel's, like, gay or something?" A pause._

"_That's what I was thinking," Xiggy said with a shrug._

"_Yeah, me too," Demyx agreed, looking up. "I didn't wanna say it but hey…"_

"_He's probably more bi anyways," Xiggy pointed out. "He's always all over the ladies too."_

"_Yeah."_

"_Yeah."_

"_Yeah," Roxas added unintelligently. Well, at least he'd gotten that off of his chest…_

… Roxas grabbed the sandwich Demyx had handed him, and started pulling off bites thoughtfully. Axel had indeed pulled over, and the band was eating a quick lunch. Roxas watched his best friend, who was currently standing outside but leaning against the driver's door, ripping the crust off his sandwich and chucking them at Demyx ("Stop it!" Demyx whined pathetically. Xiggy found this quite amusing, and joined in the Let's-Chuck-Crusts-At-Demyx-A-Thon!).

If Axel was bi, and not just… experimental… that meant he could potentially have boyfriends. Like, relationships. Roxas shuddered. Not that Roxas had anything against Axel, or gays in general… but still. If Axel started to bring boyfriends to rehearsals and shit, it'd get on Roxas' nerve. _That would be so stupid; doesn't Axel ever give it up?_

Roxas had finished his sandwich, and was waiting for the other three to hurry up and get back in the car after they were done eating. Wait—why hadn't Axel kicked him out? Axel loved his car—it was an older convertible that had been completely pimped by Axel's father, who owned a garage. He had a "don't-eat-in-my-friggin'-car-you-fags" policy whenever he could help it—why had Axel even gone through a drive-thru? Why hadn't Axel snapped at Roxas when the coffee had spilt everywhere? Axel's car… Axel's dad… the car had been a gift on Axel's birthday two years past, when he'd turned sixteen…

... _Birthday_! That was it! Today was Roxas' own birthday, and he'd totally forgotten! Roxas was a _complete_ loser, he realized. A total fag. How the hell do you forget you're turning sixteen? Not that it mattered… Roxas didn't expect anyone else to notice… _but Axel and Demyx _had _to have remembered… _

Roxas pulled out his cell phone, even though he didn't really expect anything. Scanning through his messages… there! He couldn't help but grin to himself; as expected, Sora's message was waiting to be read:

_Hey Roxas—happy birthday, man. I'm awesome; hope you are too. Buy yourself something nice from me. I'll pay you back next time we meet. :P_

Roxas chuckled to himself, and texted back,

_Sure thing. Thanks for the new car. :P_

Shaking his head, Roxas supposed the best thing to have done would be to call back and have an actual conversation. But then, Sora was all the way in Destinyville, and Roxas didn't have enough credit left on his phone to make a long-distance call that far. 

As cousins, they got along very well—in fact, it had been Sora who had introduced Roxas to the bass, and from there Roxas had taught himself.

But then, they never really got a chance to see each other—though, in the past three years, a lot _had_ changed. Roxas still cringed in guilt sometimes, but brushed it off. After all, Roxas' mother had been Sora's late father's sister; ever since the divorce, Roxas hardly ever saw his real mother anymore. Not that he particularly wanted to; his mother and father seemed to have completely moved on.

_So have I though. I've got new friends, a new life._

Roxas' thoughts were interrupted by the rocking of Axel jumping into the driver's seat again.

"Everybody, buckle up! We're heading out," Axel said as he started up the car.

"Where exactly are we heading?" Demyx asked warily from the back. Axel grinned and said,

"You'll see."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Slamming his drink down on the table, the wobbly gentleman in front of him stood up.

"What, Jack, going out already?" the young bartender asked, wiping a mug clean with his rag. The drunk man re-adjusted the three-pointed hat on his head and leaned over, pointing a finger at the bartender.

"Will," Jack said, speech slurring. "I'll 'ave you know tha' I 'ave some bizness to be takin' care of." Will frowned in concern, and asked Jack,

"Are you sure you won't need a ride home?"

"Now, m'boy, _Cap'n_ Jack Sparrow dusn't need to 'ave someone to be lookin' after 'im, 'cos then I would 'ave to look after myself to make shoore I don't get no one in trouble, and then I'd just end up looking awfter the person whom should be doing the looking awfter me." The lean young man gave him a funny look and simply replied,

"All right, _Captain_," Will said, watching his friend carefully. _Captain_ his ass, Jack looked as worn down as ever. Will just didn't understand why it was that whenever he got drunk, Jack seemed to live in his insane pirate fantasies. It wasn't the safest state of mind to go into the streets with.

Ah well, when Jack set his mind to something there was nothing to get him off of it. With a sigh, he told the "Captain", "Just be careful, and if you get hauled in by the cops again, give me a call, okay?" Jack gave a toothy grin and nodded clumsily, stumbling over to the door of the bar. Shaking his head, he just managed to call out,

"Wait—Jack! What exactly are you going to do?" Jack paused at the door, and turned to answer,

"I got an acquaintance of mine to pick up. 'E gave me a ring on the telly and told me 'e'd be stopping by with a few a couple o' mates of 'is. Something 'bout a mate's birthday." William frowned again; he didn't like the sound of birthday bashes with his already drunk friend. Knowing better than to say anything though, he simply waved as Jack left into the evening light.

Sighing, William pulled out his phone and changed the settings so he could hear the ring. He needed to get to the station as fast as possible if Jack got taken in, _again_—he already had the station payphone on its own ring tone for his phone. But what _Captain _Jack Sparrow would never know, was that the tune was very fitting.

Will began humming the tune subconsciously as he continued serving drinks.

"And a yo-ho-ho, a pirate's life for me…"

* * *

**A/N**: There you go! Hope this didn't come off as too much of a filler chapter. The next one is going to be soooooo much fun to write! XD Please, in your comments, any feedback on Whiplash would be much appreciated! I'm enjoying writing their half of the story too now, I'd like to know what you guys think. So just make sure to review. :P


	7. A Piece of Paradise

**A/N: **Woot! Thank you to all of those who reviewed! You always make my day. :-D

Well, okay, I wanted to point this out now just in case – the Whiplash aspect of this fic is _**not **_just for the **AkuRoku**. See, I realize that LiD needs some _real _three-dimensional competition – like, people who deserve to win and the readers know almost as much as the original characters do, you know? Not like, "AHHH! TEH OTHER BANDZ R TEH n00bZ n theyz EVILLZ!!" XD. Point made.

Btw, ALL lyrics written in this chapter are _my own._

And no offense meant to any DDR fans!

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer: **Nope! I own nothing! All belongs to Disney and Square-enix!

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Seven:_ A Piece of Paradise

* * *

Naminé watched the early sun's ribbons trail across the horizon, spilling on to the streets before her. The sky bloomed with rose; the indigo blue of last night slowly fading away behind her. She could still see the half-moon peeking through the veiling of the morning sky. Settling her sketchbook onto her lap, her gaze shifted to include the quiet city before her.

It was only an hour after sunrise; even now though, the dusty streets rippled with the first few of its citizens. Vendors threw open their stalls; she noticed men rushing away, off to work. Curtains of cloth cascaded over the vendor's spot of choice, which were set up against tall, stone buildings. Strange plants bloomed in the dry heat of this place. Off in the distance, a banner of sand stretched across the horizon, and gleamed gold against the white pillars of the bridge they had driven across last night.

Sandsea. Renowned for its unnatural ocean of rolling sands.

It was amazing really, Naminé had thought to herself, and Sora had been just awed by with what they saw ("_Dude!_ This place is unreal!" he said, eyes wide. He had stretched over the edge of the car to get a closer look, but Riku had only grabbed the back of his shirt – "Hey!" Sora had cried – with Riku muttering in return, "Idiot.") She too had never seen such an unnatural phenomenon before in her life. The sand contained the fluidity of water, but looked soft and refined. A truly remarkable sight and Naminé struggled to capture it on the few pages left of her sketchbook.

Naminé sighed, and rubbed her forehead. She glanced down at the half-eaten breakfast before her – a now-cold cup of pekoe tea, and some fancy exotic fruit-filled pancakes 

that the waitress just _insisted_ that she try. Naminé had – and then put the rest back down. She'd polished off the teacakes, though. _Those_ were good.

She was sitting outside on the patio of a quaint restaurant called The Oasis, which, conveniently was also a hotel. A modest-sized one, but it had air-conditioning, and everyone had been more than thankful for that, considering how hot this particular region was. What Naminé liked best about the hotel was the fact that it had a balcony – a thick white stone wall that surrounded the perimeters, opening up to the lively streets below.

And she had paid for it all.

Naminé smiled. The way the boys had practically thrown themselves at the counter – particularly Tidus – was funny, and oh-so-chivalrous. The way Sora's eyes filled with concern and tried to reason everything out, how Tidus kept inching around her, ready to haul her aside, the way Kairi just stepped in, and they just automatically _backed_ off, the way…

Naminé's smile faltered. The way a certain silver-haired, aqua-eyed, mood-swinging teenager hung in the back, who had barely uttered a word to her since that night, including the "she's a guest" line he had stated during the check-in. And he had barely looked her in the eye.

Ugh, what was going on? Naminé bit her lip, and began to methodically tap either side of her pencil on her sketchbook, her gaze lost in the drawing in front of her. The previous night's events were still fresh in her mind - did they not have a small, but polite conversation? Did they not talk? She distinctly remembered how when Riku had softened his tone, his eyes, and began to walk away, she could not let him go - she had wanted him to stay. His hand had felt rough against her smooth skin, his grip gentle, yet secure.

_Secure_, she remembered dimly. _That's how I felt_. When she was alone, outside, and the fiery redhead had sauntered up to her, almost towering over her, she had felt so vulnerable. And so _ashamed_. Kairi would _never_ have let something like that happen to _her_ (as she had oh-so-tactfully stated, "You should've friggin' _punched_ the loser!" during the brief conversation they had held in the car with Sora's and Riku's absences).

But Naminé had only stood there in fear, helpless, and not knowing what to do. _Ignorant. Naïve_. Childish terms chased her conscience, taunting. Naminé had felt so bad - she felt as if they were _baby-sitting_ her or something - she had felt like such a burden afterwards. _None of this would've happened if it weren't for me_, she thought glumly. Not Axel, not the single-bedroom-thing, not the drag race, not anything.

Was the rest of the trip going to be like this too? Huh. And Naminé thought the madness ended with all the events that transpired a month ago...

"Hey Naminé!" a voice called out from inside the restaurant. Naminé was about to twist her head towards the door (along with the rest of the early-risers, it _was _quite a 

commotion), but suddenly, a body with familiar nut-brown hair threw himself into the plastic chair across from her. A set of sparkling blue eyes twinkled before her.

"Going to go sight-seeing without me, huh?"

Naminé smiled. "Morning, Sora."

"Morning yourself; beautiful day, isn't it?" Sora said brightly, as he leaned back into his chair, hands folded behind his head. She saw that his hair was still wet; fragrances of soap and shampoo emanated from him. He'd carelessly thrown on a sky-blue t-shirt (which really brought out the blue in his eyes, she noticed) and khaki-coloured cargo caprice that were still half-wrinkled. If she didn't know better, she'd say that Sora had practically leapt out of the bathroom in his excitement to start the day.

Sora noticed the food on the table, and his eyes lit up. "Whoa! Pancakes! Can I eat some too?" he asked, grabbing a nearby fork, and stuck a rather large piece into his mouth. Naminé laughed, watching as his eyes widened in delight.

"Mmm! Where's the waitress? I want more of this stuff!" he said, looking around. The young woman noticed, and she hurried over. Not only did he order said pancakes, but some coffee.

"You sure you really need the coffee?" Naminé asked when the waitress left. "I kind of think you have enough energy right now to, you know, last you the whole day."

Sora laughed. "It's just this place! It's so… alive, you know? The city, the people, the music, I can't wait to look around – I wanna see it all!"

Sora's eagerness didn't surprise Naminé in the least, but the contagiousness of it did. He had to be the most open-minded person she knew – reveling in other cultures and foreign cities would energize him. It was an adventure for Sora; a chance for him to learn and experience something new.

And now, she was looking forward to exploring as much as he was. _This should be fun. _

"Hey," Sora began, as the waitress arrived with his food, "Whaddya say we go around for a look-see, huh? The others won't be awake for another hour or so."

Naminé thought about it for a moment. There was no way that anyone could contain Sora's eagerness. He was clearly itching to start.

She nodded. "Sure; Kai asked for a few things, and it wouldn't hurt to look for a new sketchbook." She glanced at the table. "But what about your food?"

"I'll just bring it along!" he said cheerily, standing up. He began to roll the two large pancakes up, and wrapped a couple of napkins around them. Sora nodded for her to stand up as well, as he grabbed his coffee in the other. "Come on, let's go!"

Naminé smiled, and grabbed her tote bag. A little distraction _would_ be nice, after all, and where else for her mind to drift, but into what she'd only been trying to capture moments ago? She stood up, and walked over to Sora, who was already out on the roads.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"This place sucks ass."

"Don't be so negative, jeez."

"Well, maybe if you'd tell me where the frig' we are, I wouldn't have to be."

"It's a surprise."

"Hmph," Roxas grunted at Axel, glaring out the window. "You're so annoying." Axel chortled at him, only pissing an already pissed Roxas off. Instead of responding again, Roxas watched the passing scenery.

Dingy buildings and dark streets encompassed the majority of the city they had traveled through, hazy smoke and neon lights blinding the unwary citizen. Past the busy intersections, past the roaring clubhouses, past the street-roamers, were endless stretches of night however. _Almost like home_, Roxas thought, feeling grumpy. Home was the _last _place Roxas wanted to be right now – half the reason he'd been so ecstatic to go on this trip.

Grimacing at the thought of his _family_, Roxas did remember not all of D'Arc looked like the city passing by. On the outer rims of their hometown, wealthy suburbs and lame friendly neighbors resided in harmony. _Like something out of a friggin' movie. _Well, gay-ass romance and comedy movies, that was.

Fear was way more fun. Who cared about who married who, who was sleeping around, what fights were started, when CGI effects could _mutilate _people?

Next to him, Axel was drumming his fingers to the beat of the music, looking for – what had he called it? _The Black Pearl_. Sounded like the lamest place ever, in Roxas' opinion. Not to mention, _suspicious_. It was probably some freaky cave underwater, or an abandoned island, and it was probably the base of some retarded scientist's laboratory.

Ooh… and then, and then, the mad scientist indulged in _mixing genes_ and he probably had _armies _of freakish and demented, angry beasts that were full of radioactive-ness and… and… they had a fetish for human flesh! And blood! And they used the _bones _of the victim to pick their teeth afterwards! Yeah!

Wait… what movie was that from? _The Mountains Can Hear_. Yeah… Roxas shuddered. That had definitely been a scary one.

Axel must have noticed Roxas' reaction to his thoughts, because he cocked an eyebrow and said,

"Relax; Jack told me the Black Pearl is the coolest place around." Roxas snorted. _Captain Jack_, what kind of friend was that? Who the hell thinks he's a _pirate_? And a friggin' _Captain_? Axel hadn't explained how the two had met, but Roxas had a firm guess that it was when one or the other was thoroughly wasted.

Axel sighed. No doubt he was depressed, what with everyone being so _not interested. _Roxas rolled his eyes – normally, he supposed, he'd care, but right now he was feeling rather grumpy. And the screeching music about some loser who's daddy never hugged him wasn't exactly lightening the mood. Roxas scoffed – his dad had rarely hugged him, but nobody saw _Roxas _bitching.

Xiggy, in the back, groaned, "Are we _there _yet?" Axel let out another dramatic sigh – jeez, the band could be so friggin' immature sometimes, Roxas told himself – and tried to lighten the mood with,

"Awww, you guys are just unhappy 'cause of all the emo shit!"

Roxas grunted again in response, hood up and hands jammed in his front pocket. Xiggy rolled his eyes,

"No, it's not the music, Axel – it's you. You suck." Maybe it was because he was feeling annoyed, or maybe it was as payback for Xiggy's insult, but Axel slammed the radio button, changing the station.

"_Feel that! That air is a-rushin', you don't stop crushin', oh baby…"_

Roxas rolled his eyes. Xiggy groaned. Demyx continued to snore. Axel bobbed his head, and had he known the lyrics Roxas was certain the redhead would be roaring along.

"_Sweets and tarts ain't got my heart, you got it all… feel that! It's looooove!"_

Axel just _had _to choose the hoppiest, most beat-bopping, _gayest _song there was. With a lightly dancing drum; a cheery, bouncing bass (Roxas scowled here, feeling insulted); a tag-along guitar that doubled the vocals; the singer running up and down a complete major scale, Roxas wanted to punch the radio.

"_Dresses and ties ain't got my eyes, baby… oh babbyyyy… it's you! Yeah, you! Cuz we're in looooooove…" "Love! You! Love! You! Looooooove!"_

"Yeah!" Axel enthused; half mocking, half cheerful. "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

Typical Axel to do something so out of character. Back when they'd first met, Roxas was sure Axel _had_ to be the biggest jerk around. The cliché bad-ass; shit, had Roxas been scared of him. Demyx, on the other hand, instead of the typical lackey, had actually proved to be what Axel saw as an equal. A best friend. Huh – Demyx had been a lot friendlier, right off the bat, towards Roxas than _Axel _had. He'd harass the hell out of Roxas, just because he could.

And yet, unlike what Roxas had expected, Axel had proved to be a startlingly loyal friend when the time had come. That alone was enough to slap Roxas back to reality.

Roxas glared at the radio, but felt it loosen a bit. Axel was still bobbing his head along to the cheesy, yet layered tune. Roxas' lips twitched into a smirk, and even in the back, Xiggy had stopped complaining. But then, he was willing to bet that the older man had just zoned out – tripping-up enough tended to give people that ability. Roxas supposed he should be glad he wasn't _that_ deep in yet.

Leaning back in his seat, Roxas sighed. Hopefully, whatever Axel had planned wouldn't be anything to push him in farther tonight.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Kairi bounced out of the bathroom, her hair still wet and wrapped in a towel. She'd woken at half-past nine, only to find Naminé already gone.

_Figures_ – they'd had a long talk last night (something they hadn't done in like _forever_), and running through the conversation in her mind, Kairi really wasn't surprised if Naminé wouldn't have been able to sleep. Everything that had happened almost a month ago _still _wouldn't leave Naminé's mind, and Kairi cursed herself for not having been there. Although Naminé had assured her – over and over, at that – that it _was not Kai's _fault that they were _hundreds_ of kilometers away from each other, and there was _nothing_ she could've done, Kai still wouldn't buy it. After all, she was the _big sister_, dammit! She was like, supposed to be there and stuff! Naminé shouldn't have to deal with school drama alone! Thoughts still raging in her heads, she hadn't even realized she was already heading towards the boys' room.

_Huh_ – looked like as much as they got on nerves, she found herself heading towards them every damn time. The thought actually made Kairi smirk a bit to herself, as she shoved open their door (they hadn't bothered to lock it, _again_ – don't males know _anything _about security?).

"Rik's in the bathroom, and I dunno about Sor," Tidus greeted the moment she entered, lying upside-down on the bed lazily.

"It's good to see you, too," she replied, rolling her eyes. She could hear the shower running… and something… else…

"Where's Naminé then?" he asked, ignoring the last statement. Almost. "Oh, yeah –good morning." Tidus peered around Kairi, as if the blonde girl may have been hiding behind her sister. Kairi rolled her eyes again and said bluntly,

"Away. She ran as far as possible from you, dumbass." Well, Kairi wouldn't have blamed her if she had. But then, knowing her sister, she was probably downstairs, or hanging out with Sora.

Huh. Kairi wouldn't be surprised if Sora was already outside, taking in the city. He'd been more than ready to go exploring last night, but both Tidus and Riku had dragged 

him into the hotel/restaurant, muttering about "being awake too long" and "too much driving". Tidus brought her back to the moment though, when he wailed dramatically,

"And you _let _her? You let the girl of my sweetest and forever-ness-ness dreams just _abandon _me like that?"

"With my blessings."

"_Hey_! That's not – "

Just then, though, the bathroom door swung open; Riku walked out, rubbing the towel through his wet silver hair. He was dressed in a red t-shirt (some brand name or another printed darkly on the front), with its sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, and light jeans. Upon seeing Kairi, he flashed her a brilliant smile.

"Good morning!"

Kairi blinked. Holy crap; and _this _guy had been humming? In the _shower_? _Riku_?

"Well, someone's awfully cheerful today," Kairi noted, as Tidus got up and walked into the bathroom. She watched as Riku dropped his gathered clothes into a heap in the corner of the room. Kairi frowned. _Boys_. They're all the same, dammit. She didn't know how many times she'd find Sora's clothes all over his room everytime she came over to his house. Kairi grimaced inside – Tidus' room was probably the worst of them all.

"Hey – it's a nice city. I wanna look around," Riku replied, digging through his bags on the bed she was sitting on. Shaking her head, she smiled.

"Seems as if Sora's beat you to it."

"Whatever – he's just scouting out the territory for me, so I don't have to waste any time."

Kairi laughed, and shook her head. Knowing that they had grown up together, she saw there were some strong similarities that Riku and Sora shared, and this was one of them. Their love of adventure; always wanting to try something new (and dangerous, Kairi thought wearily, reflecting on the countless times they and their friends had pulled ridiculously stupid stunts). So she shouldn't really be surprised to see that Riku was in a good mood, but the cheerful smile _had_ thrown her off – especially considering in light of what had happened yesterday.

Kairi paused, collecting her thoughts, all the while giving Riku a careful glance. Riku noticed, and looked up. "What?" he asked, curiously.

Kairi bit the inside of her cheek hesitantly and peered up at him. "Are… you all right?" He paused, before giving her a lighthearted smile, returning to digging through his things. He pulled out his music player, and slipped the headphones around his neck.

"Yeah, of course," he replied, but then mumbled, "Better than before." She nodded thoughtfully.

"She told me what happened – the other night," – Riku gave her a side-long glance – "and…" Kairi wondered if… because if it _was_… then she'd have to…

"Riku… is there something – "

A loud knocking suddenly interrupted their conversation.

"Room service!" a perky voice called from the other side of the door. Kairi and Riku exchanged glances, and Kairi sighed. _Naminé._

Of course, Kairi knew that Naminé had paid this time… something about owing the gang back for all their hospitality, even though Kairi _told_ her not to worry. And technically, Kairi had paid too… considering it was their parent's credit card she had used – something their parents had given Naminé to help pay for expenses in Radiant Garden. Kairi was surprised though, that Naminé had also opted to pay for room and laundry service, though inside Kairi had squealed.

Riku walked over, and answered the door. A woman was standing outside, holding out a rather large laundry bag in her hands. Riku shook his head, as he gathered up the clothes in the corner, and put them in the bag.

"Thank you! Laundry will be washed, dried, and folded within the next two hours," she chirped, as she tagged the bag, and dragged it away. Riku offered to help carry it, but the woman just shook her head with a big smile, saying, "Enjoy your day!"

Kairi hopped off the bed, as Riku closed the door, again, shaking his head.

"Well, you heard her – let's enjoy our day!" she enthused. Tidus walked out then, clad in a navy blue sleeveless hoodie, with silver basketball shorts, and sockless, white running shoes. Kairi raised her eyebrows, and Tidus responded with a cheeky smile.

"I checked out way too many girls last night." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before rolling them once _again_, and marched over to the door.

"Come on! Let's just get downstairs!" With that, Kairi walked outside, the two trailing behind her.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Axel leaned back in his chair, watching a disgruntled Roxas in front of him. They'd arrived at the _Black Pearl _a while ago; turned out to be a rather…er… _dramatic _restaurant, in Axel's opinion. Pirate-theme overruled everywhere – from the manager and owner (Captain Barbossa, he demanded to be called), to the costumed crew for waiters; all accented by treasure chests spewing with fool's gold, crossbones and olden tables.

Jack had arrived early with a reserved spot for them, right by the fire roaring in the hearth. He was sitting with his legs sprawled out and that same retarded hat on his head – Axel smirked, remembering how he'd been wearing it when they first met. Sparrow had been utterly drunk, and had been wandering through D'Arc city alleys when Axel had taken the loser in, feeling pity for the strange character. Jack crashed on his couch and the next morning he left again, telling Axel to stop by if he ever happened through his city.

Tortuga.

_A pirate's paradise_.

"Jack!" a female voice cried out. Axel raised an eyebrow, and saw a busty, vivacious young barmaid walk by. He smirked, as Jack responded in equal delight,

"_Marie?_"

"Oh?" the women sneered from behind a mask of make-up. " 'Oo's she?" _Slap_.

Nice – Axel smirked again, as Jack was rubbing his cheek in discontent. Another scraggly bar hand came by sometime after the girl had stormed off,

"What 'ill the sirs 'e 'avin then?" Axel briefly wondered if they were paid to put the accent on, or if it all came naturally. Maybe the whole friggin' city was as insane as Jack was.

"Well," Jack said with extravagance. "I'll be 'avin the usual, my good man – er – Pintel, and give the same to the rest o' the lads here." Jack looked around, but raised an eyebrow in surprise at a very awkward looking Roxas, and quickly added, "Oh! But for the lad – the short one – give 'im the special."

"The Dead Man's Chest?" the waiter asked. Jack nodded with a smirk,

"Aye."

Roxas, looking horrified, cut in, "No! Really – I – that's very kind, sir, but I – er…"

"Nonsense! Tis your _birthday_, lad! Don't 'ou think you _deserve _the special?" Jack laughed, flamboyantly. "Don't worry mate – every'ing's mostly dead in it, anyways! Well, last I checked."

Demyx and Xiggy couldn't help but snicker at the expression on Roxas' face. Even Axel couldn't deny it wasn't just cute – hell, it was friggin' hilarious, seeing the death glare/flabbergasted/ horrified expression on the blond's face. Axel leaned over and ruffled his friend's hair, much to the blond's dismay. But, wait – there it was. Roxas was pouting a bit now.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Strolling along under the burning heat, Riku tugged his headphones off for a moment, before slipping them back on. The bass was blaring, pounding Riku's already aching head. As intrigued as he was with the new culture, heat and Riku had gotten along about as well… _ugh_. Something that didn't get along – it was too exhausting to think properly right now. They'd been walking for around half-an-hour, after Sora and Naminé hadn't shown up at breakfast.

Focusing back on the music, Riku ran through the lyrics mentally this time – even though he usually carried a pocket notebook around with him.

_Should I just drown in your sea? _No, damn, that wouldn't work… but damn, a sea would be nice right about now…

_Are you gonna leave me in this sea? _Crap, no…

_Think I can float in this…_ sea… ah! Riku's creativity seemed to be withering in this blasted heat.

He mouthed out words silently, with a half a mind – the other absorbed in the music pounding into his ears. The music was their own – instrumentals they had pre-recorded themselves either using a recorder or the computer program at Tidus' house. Most of the time, Riku just wrote the lyrics to fit the mood of the music.

_It feels like I'm sinking but maybe not_

_Maybe I'm floating in what I sought_

Perfect… but _argh_, what about the line before that? What about, what about… argh!

_Damn_ _it_! He ripped off his headphones, jamming his hands into his pockets. Glaring at the vendors calling their wares, Riku's eyes shifted to the sandy road they stood on. He knew the competition required original work, and they had most of the songs already planned out, but there were still a few left reverberating through his mind.

They had stopped at a vendor, with Kairi eagerly looking over some exotic looking bangles ("Holy crap!" she squealed excitedly. "Guys, look! The diamond-dust pink compliments the ochre luster black _so _perfectly!" The vendor backed away a bit after she did a little jump-thingy). Riku rolled his eyes, moving in closer under the shade of the vendor's booth.

"How's it going?" a voice spoke, breaking through his thoughts.

Riku looked up to see the blond drummer grinning at him.

Riku shrugged, flipping his hair out the band of his headphones. "I don't know. We've got the music down, but these lyrics…" He ran a hand through his hair, before resting it behind his neck. "Just give me a few more days."

He felt a hand rest firmly on his shoulder. Riku glanced to see Kairi had turned to him (her wrists glittering), and she smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry too much. We'll have plenty of time. The competition lasts over almost a week or so, right?"

"Yeah," Tidus said breezily, "_Plenty_ of time. No worries." Riku sighed, but his eyes flicked up to see the bangles jingling from Kairi's wrists, and he frowned.

"You did pay for those, didn't you?" he asked. Kairi grinned cheekily, and replied,

"'Course not! I told the nice salesman you'd be more than happy to cover the bill!" She raised an eyebrow expectantly at the lead singer, and Riku scowled, fishing for his wallet. _How does Sora put up with this all the time_? Once he handed over the ridiculous amount (a whole 175 munny, _honestly_, how did women spend that much on _accessories_?), he tucked his wallet away. Tidus, who'd been laughing jovially at the whole ordeal (and glad it wasn't him, probably), glanced up for a moment; he flashed a broad grin.

Kairi looked over to see what was so interesting, and groaned. "Not _again._" Riku, too, threw a glance over his shoulder.

_Ah_, it was those giggly girls again. The same ones that had been passing them as they walked around, _twice_. They seemed local, with dark, yet sun-streaked hair, and slightly tanned skin. They had yet to drop eye contact with himself and Tidus. Every time they glanced his way, Riku could feel the back of his neck heat-up – they _were_ really pretty – but he tried to ignore them anyways.

Tidus, however, kept encouraging them with his oh-so-charming smiles.

"Hey ladies," Tidus greeted, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hiiiii…" they cooed in response this time (Wow… and Riku had assumed they were mute) before once again – with their muffled giggles and all – disappearing around the corner.

Kairi sighed loudly. "Don't you _ever_ stop?"

"Nope," Tidus replied brightly. Riku smirked in despite himself.

"That's our man," he said lightly.

Kairi's eye twitched. "Someday, Tidus…" she steamed. "Someday…"

"Someday, what, Kairi?" a voice rang out. The trio looked up to see Sora smiling broadly, a strange delicacy in hand, and Naminé tailing behind him as they weaved their way through the crowds to reach the other two.

"About _time_," Kairi pointed out. Sora just grinned, and placed a kiss on her head. Tidus punched Sora in the arm good-naturedly and began leading the group away from the expensive-bangle-stall. Kairi and Sora strolled side by side, holding hands (he offered 

some of what he was eating, but she just shook her head). Tidus was walking with his arms behind his head, an eye out for those girls again, and Naminé had pulled up beside them, walking with her eyes to the gravel.

Riku felt the netted-silk of her dress brush his arm. He briefly glanced down, and from the corner of his vision, he caught that she was wearing a soft, printed summer dress that just grazed her knees. He briefly wondered if she ever wore pants - she seemed to be the complete opposite of Kairi. His memory tugged though, when he remembered she wasn't really.

Something stirred inside of him. He had barely spoken to her since _that_ night. He had _wanted_ to… but…

"What'd we miss?" Sora asked, breaking his brief reverie. Kairi pouted a bit, swinging their joined hands.

"Oh, just Tidus being an ass as always, and flirting himself stupid." Kairi threw the said flirt a stern look. "When are you actually going to _get together_ with one of these girls, hmm?"

Riku quickly exchanged brief glances with Sora, and they both sighed, knowing what was coming. Naminé was watching the conversation intently though.

"Aww… I'm just trying some different tastes – no harm in that, is there?"

The keyboardist smacked her forehead. "_Of course_ there is, dumbass."

Tidus lifted a corner of his mouth, turning around to walk backwards and face the redhead. "Now, now Kai, just because you can no longer play the field doesn't mean _I_ can't."

Kairi scowled, and walked a bit faster so that she and Tidus were closer. Her voice shrill, she cried, "_Riku_'s not playing the field" – Riku's eyes widened – "why can't you be more like him?"

"Hey!" Riku protested, indignantly. Tidus and Sora laughed.

"Well, you're _not_," Kairi pointed out. She quirked an eyebrow. "_Are_ you?"

"Not for lack of trying, on your part," the guitarist countered. Kairi rolled her eyes. He had _so_ had girlfriends in the past – no, wait, okay, maybe they were just _dates_, or rather "blackmailed-setups-as-awkward-companions-for-forced-durations-of-time". And it was _always_ thanks to _Kairi_ ("But I already told her that you were coming!" she had pleaded once, when Riku had _clearly_ told everyone that he _wasn't_ going). _Pfffft._

It wasn't that he didn't like girls – he just hadn't been interested with them. He always had other crap going on that needed his attention. Of course, _time_ wasn't the problem – it was his mind that was preoccupied. He felt that entering into any relationship would just complicate things even more, and he didn't need the additional stress or the 

distractions. And besides… Kairi's choices in potentials were _never_ what he was looking for. Rather, he found them to be a few feathers short of a chocobo.

"Ugh! Boys are impossible!" Kairi raged, "This one" – she pointed to Tidus – "can't get girls _out_ of his head, and the other won't let them _in_!"

Tidus grinned with pride; Riku rolled his eyes in annoyance, eventually trailing to watch the passing locals.

Sora sighed. "Well, at least one of us is still sane, right Naminé?" Naminé glanced up. "You've never had to deal with this kind of stuff."

Something unreadable flashed in Naminé's eyes. "Actually…" Naminé bit her lip. "There _was_ someone…"

_What? _Riku stiffened – in fact, all of _LiD_ suddenly looked at her at once.

Tidus raised an eyebrow, and actually stumbled a bit (the idiot was still walking backwards, despite having knocked into goodness-knows how many people). "Whoa – _seriously_? Who?"

"You _have?_" Sora choked in awe.

Naminé lowered her eyes. "I…" She brought them back up to rest on Sora, and Riku almost started at what he saw. Walking so close next to her, he saw the way her eyes had hardened in the subtlest of ways; her dress scrunched up in tight hands. "Did… did you think… that I couldn't?" she asked softly.

Sora's eyes widened. "No! I-I didn't mean it like that! Really!" he asserted, letting go of Kairi's hand to grab Naminé's arm in apology.

Tidus turned back around, and with eyes to the heavens he asked conspiratorially. "Really, Naminé. So, like, holy _crap_, who like, was it?" Wow – Tidus pulled off the mock-girlfriend impression a little _too _well, in Riku's opinion.

Kairi looked worried. "_Guys_… Nami… you don't have to –"

Naminé shook her head, clasping her hands in front of her as she walked. "It was nothing, really. It didn't even last that long." Riku caught the slight frown embedded on Kairi's face. He felt like he should say something… but _damn._ Naminé's hooked up with someone before? Like, a _serious_ relationship?

All of a sudden, his curiosity piqued, and Riku wanted to know how it happened. Naminé could _not_ handle guys – that much he'd seen – yet she was still able to get together with someone? How? She was so quiet – how'd the guy get her to say yes?

Naminé locked eyes with him briefly; it was right then that he noticed he'd been staring. The back of his neck prickled - c_rap_. He shifted his glance so she was in his peripheral.

"Aww… come on Naminé. Tell us," Tidus prompted, dropping the teasing and sounding genuinely interested as well. Naminé smiled softly.

"Some guy at my school… he turned out to be a jerk – too self-absorbed, I felt – and it just… led to a messy break-up. That's all."

It was quiet. From what Riku could see, Kairi was biting her lip, Sora's eyes shone with concern, and Tidus was surprised. For Riku himself…

To some extent, he was stunned. So she'd been through her first relationship, and from the sounds of it, it didn't end too well. He grimaced inside. _Shit _– did he feel bad for her.

Riku blinked.

Wait – was that why she was awake the other night? Riku thought about it. Girls _did_ tend to get over-dramatic in their break-ups… but maybe that was how Naminé was dealing with it? _Playing a flute…_ Riku frowned. _No way,_ he thought to himself. _That can't _just_ be it._

"Maybe we should split up now, you know?" Kairi suddenly asked, beginning to tug Sora away with her. "You know, to cover more ground and the likes."

He watched as Naminé locked eyes with Kairi, an unspoken message flitting between them. Naminé's smile was sudden, and she nodded at her sister.

"Yeah – we can meet up back at the hotel in about an hour and a half, okay?"

Sora nodded slowly; his eyes were still searching Naminé's face. When he saw there were no traces of sadness, or bitter pain, he finally let out a grin. Riku knew she had successfully masked her emotions. He rarely saw anything like it.

Tidus stopped in his tracks, causing Naminé to stumble into him. With a flirty, playful grin, he steadied her. Riku felt the tiniest flicker of anger – the idiot, she had _just_ talked about her first break up, and he was flirting with her? Watching the flaxen-haired girl though, Riku let his anger ebb away.

"Naminé! Oh, come head off with Riku and I to forget the woes of the past, don't you think?" Tidus asked gallantly, grabbing her hand and swinging it with ridiculous zest. Kairi scowled, and looked about to say something when –

"Kairi – don't." Sora had clasped a hand over her mouth and she glared. He instead tugged her along a different path, nodding a good-bye to the others. Before he left, Riku remembered to call out,

"Hey – don't do anything stupid, got it, kid?" Sora laughed and waved a response. Riku rolled his eyes, and walked quickly to catch up with Tidus and Naminé. "I'll hold those," Riku offered, motioning to the bags in Naminé's hands (after she'd wriggled free of 

Tidus). The girl shook her head, and continued walking in between the two teenagers, and flicked a look at him.

"No, it's okay, I got –"

Riku held her gaze. "Let me."

Naminé hesitated a moment, before finally letting go of the bags. She locked eyes with him for a fleeting moment, before holding her elbow behind her back. He shifted the bags in his grasp, preoccupied – but not before catching the amused expression on Tidus' face. Riku shrugged it off, and focused his gaze on the passing market place, intrigued locals and vibrant spices in the air. He sighed though, mind coming back to the blondie beside him.

It was time to fix a few things.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Some time after they'd finished their meal (the Dead Man's Chest, apparently, was some strange, suspicious seafood meat cushioned in vegetables and shit loads of sea weed; served in a chest), Roxas stood up to go excuse himself to the bathroom. Not that Roxas had to piss – mostly, he just wanted to avoid talking to strange patrons or something.

Earlier that evening, Captain Barbossa himself had come to their table, roaring out, "We got us a bir'day, you _scurvy_ dogs! Let's 'ear us some _merry_-makin'!" The entire restaurant complied, breaking into a rowdy, sailor-ish, drunken version of _Happy Birthday to You_ (clanking their mugs together and a few pulling him into a rough group noogie hug). Roxas had tried his hardest to just die – later, he realized if he stayed out of sight, that sufficed as well.

Damn, this place was so friggin' lame. Just as suspected – okay, maybe the whole "set-out-of-a-movie" thing had been cool at first, but seeing _Davy Jones' Locker _on one restroom door (from where the barmaid had pointed him, anyways) and the other one with _Mermaid's Paradise _set Roxas into an darker mood. No fair – what kind of man wanted to relieve himself in a supposed death zone, while the women got to enjoy themselves? _And they call _us_ sexist_.

Stepping into the hypothetical hell, Roxas was amazed to find that _no_, he was not about to be attacked by some heart-broken man-thing with a squid for a face.

By the time he was done with his business (there had been a rather disturbing man with a friggin' _wooden_ eye who'd been gawking at him, so Roxas had hurriedly decided to use one of the stalls), he came out and –

"Roxas! My man, come on, we're heading downstairs!"

Axel had grabbed his arm, and was dragging him along. Getting over the momentary shock of being latched onto out of nowhere – he _had _just come back from the dead, after all – Roxas managed to ask while being forced to walk backwards, "Huh?"

Axel grinned, sly twinkle in his eyes.

"You think this place is just a restaurant? Dumbass, downstairs there's an awesome clubhouse where all the _ruffians _can hang out in." Roxas lightened a bit, and managed to turn himself around, trailing an Axel who explained that Jack, Demyx and Xiggy had gone ahead. Roxas didn't mind – Roxas had come to like parties quite a bit, as long as he didn't get too wasted (which was saying something, considering the kind of guy he'd been a few years ago). He enjoyed remembering what he did those nights – or who he'd done, at that matter.

So far, he'd only woken up next to chicks, so it was going all right. As long as some dirty old man didn't decide to explore his homosexual tendencies with a drunk (tripped, smashed, wasted, smacked, high, stoned, _whatever_ – anything Roxas had been up to that night) young man, Roxas figured he should be fine. _Or dirty Axel. _Roxas glared at nothing, trying to make the thought go away.

He found himself being led down rickety stairs, to a "below-deck" designed under house. And _damn_, was this place for _ruffians_. Music was blaring so loud, Roxas was curious as to why it wasn't heard upstairs.

Gritting his teeth, Roxas realized music was all up-beat, drunken sailor/pirate tunes that had been techno remixed (_who the frig' thought that one up?_) so they sounded like one of those crappy DDR songs. Warm, flushed bodies pressed against one another in the limited space, screaming, laughter and cheering roaring from mouths; lips meeting beer bottles held in hand, or any part of a fellow ruffian. Above them, on a small stage, Demyx was standing – slamming away at his guitar, following the poppy beat of the music to the delight of the crowd.

Axel grabbed Roxas' forearm, and pulled him close. He whispered, with warm breath tickling his ear,

"Happy birthday, man," before disappearing into the crowd of people. Roxas smirked, too ecstatic – best he'd felt all day, at that – with the new found entertainment to even worry about Axel's not-just-friendly gestures.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Hey, Naminé, how about this place?"

Naminé swiveled around, following the direction of the blond's voice over the array of several others. Tidus was up ahead, among the thriving locals who bustled throughout the market place. It was loud, and extremely busy – there wasn't enough room to walk through the roads without bumping into one person or another. Among the stalls and vendors, the awkward conversation – at least on her part – had drifted from her mind. Apparently, Riku must have too – right now, he was no where in sight.

From every direction, Naminé could hear the vendors pitching their sales. There wasn't a shop around that didn't have customers or tourists browsing through their contents. The sun was beating down, and there was barely enough wind to carry away the heat. They'd only been outside for a half-hour so, and she'd already drained her first water bottle.

"Check it out; this one's got brass, silver, _and_ wooden frames," Tidus said, pointing out said items. Naminé walked closer, waving the guidebook she'd pick up in front of her face as a fan. She spotted a frame, with intricate designs around the edges, and cheery-wood finish.

"Can I see that one?" Naminé asked the vendor, a burly man with a rather large mustache that reminded her of a brush.

"Ah yes yes! Tis very good! Made from best wood around – won't find anywhere else!" the man offered in a speeded tone. Naminé took hold of the frame, and felt the texture. It was smooth, and very beautiful – she was sure her parents would love it. She wanted to frame one of her artwork pieces, and give it as an anniversary present.

Naminé handed the frame over to Tidus, as she took out her sketchbook.

"Think it'll fit?" she asked, holding it up next to the frame.

"Definitely. That's a great picture, you know. You're really talented," Tidus remarked. Naminé blushed. "So… when do I get one?"

"Oh?"

Tidus' eyes twinkled. "Your pictures. Sora has one of yours, doesn't he? He said you gave it to him as a present."

Naminé's blush grew darker. He still had _that_ picture? She remembered it all too clearly – it was an experimental piece around geometrical shading, and she hadn't been particularly proud of it. She was going to throw it out, but Sora had beat Kairi to it ("Whoa! That's so cool! Let me keep it!" he had marveled). _Wow…_

"Would you mind?" Tidus asked. Naminé swallowed, but shook her head.

"Of course not," she answered quietly. It's not like she wasn't used to people requesting for her artwork, but they were usually people who were fellow artists and professors from the Academy. She didn't think Kairi's friends would, well, appreciate that kind of stuff.

"Great!" he said brightly. Tidus turned around, searching. "Whoa… hey, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, 'kay?"

Naminé nodded as she watched Tidus' retreating back head over to a vendor a few stalls away. With a couple of girls milling around it._ Oh, Tidus._ Smiling, Naminé shook her head and went back to looking at the frames laid out before her.

"Don't I get one?"

Naminé started; she spun her head either way, and it was then that something caught her eye.

Riku was leaning against the wall of the building close to her shop, arms crossed against his chest. His silver hair and bright red shirt contrasted with the dull tan of the wall.

She quickly looked away, back to the frames, but he was already moving towards her. Her face was _already_ beginning to heat up; damn – what was she was going to say?

"Hey." And he was there. She still didn't meet his eyes, but she knew he was standing close to her; a light scent of sandalwood and spices tickled her nose.

"Hey," she responded quietly, still unable to meet his eyes. _What am I supposed to say?_ she thought desperately. She knew she'd come off as stupid and childish – the familiar embarrassment flushed her cheeks. _Ugh…_

He moved into her line of sight. He shifted, before prodding quietly, "Naminé?"

She looked up at him.

He was watching her, intently, his long bangs falling lightly into his eyes. His face was no longer full of anger as she last remembered it, but with passive inquisition.

"I…" she started, but Naminé was finding it difficult to form any words. They hadn't spoken to each other in a whole day – what was she to expect?

A small crease formed between his silver brows. "Are you still mad?"

_No_, she thought fervently. Ashamed, or guilty, was more like it – but there was _no_ _way_ that she was going to voice _that_. She shook her head.

"No," she said quickly, before returning her attention back to the vendor. She indicated that she wanted the frame she'd picked up earlier, and he began packing it into a box.

Riku frowned. "Doesn't seem like it."

Naminé mentally rolled her eyes. _For the love of… oh, forget this._ She paid for her purchase, and began walking away.

"Naminé –" he called out, grabbing her forearm. She stopped. Riku still hadn't let go, and they were blocking the street – a few people were giving them annoyed glares as they milled around them. Naminé turned to look at him.

She watched him bow his head slightly, his hair fringing his eyes. His grip loosened.

"I'm… I'm sorry," he said. Naminé blinked. He continued hurriedly, "I… know I kinda came off as an ass, I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." He caught her gaze. "I didn't… mean to scare you."

Naminé stiffened. _What?_ She watched as he let go of her arm, and began to rub his neck awkwardly.

"Look, I know I upset you that night, and I wasn't thinking, and things just got out of hand, and I know I shouldn't have blown up like that after, it's just –"

"Riku."

Riku glanced up at her, surprised. Naminé shook her head, and sighed. _Here goes…_

"You don't have to apologize," she said quietly, beginning to walk forwards again. Riku didn't hesitate to follow.

"But –"

"Look, it was my own stupidity that I was even out in the middle of the night," she began quickly. "It's – it's my fault you were out there; it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't." She ducked her head, and she added more quietly, "None of it would've happened it wasn't for me."

"Naminé…" Riku walked up to match her stride.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," he said again, and she caught his gaze, intent once-again. Suddenly, he tilted his head, and the sun reflected off his aqua eyes. He smiled a bit. "Guess we're in it together then, huh?"

And just like that, a weight she hadn't known she was carrying dissipated off her shoulders. She returned the smile.

"I guess." Riku's eyes crinkled into a full-smile.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Axel rested his elbows on the bar-counter in front of him. Somehow, after smashing through crowds of people, he'd found this place in the back once he'd tired of dancing, grinding, flirting and the whatnot. Besides, the bartender was pretty damn hot – Elizabeth, she said her name was. A bit bitchy, but Axel had managed to charm a few flirty laughs out of her.

But she said had a boyfriend, anyways – Will, or something rather. Still though, she seemed oddly friendly towards Sparrow whenever he stopped by. Such as now, for example.

"Ah, my lovely lass, was I in your thoughts, 'earest?" _Why _did Sparrow talk about a century behind times or something? Jeez.

"Jack – I'll have you know that I've been doing _perfectly_ well, up until you had to show your face."

"But Elizabeth, love, that must mean your lov-uh-lee thoughts of yours truly, hmm?" Elizabeth smiled here, in spite of herself.

"So?"

"So I'm off, love! To fraternize and make merry, so that you may 'e kept in your wondrous thoughts o' _Cap'n Jack_!" Though she glared at him, but the moment he was back standing on one of the tables (performing some insane move Axel would've called the _Yo-Ho-Fo'-Sho_), Elizabeth smirked a bit before turning to attend other patrons.

A shot glass was in front of him – he was legal, so no more faking for him – finally, jeez. It was such a drag. Plus, since he was eighteen, it was easy enough to get shit for Roxas and Demyx – but then, Xiggy usually supplied that. Axel swirled the remains of the liquor in his glass, not feeling particularly woozy yet. He was about to order another – and maybe try hitting it off with Elizabeth, again, when something caught his eye.

While Demyx was off still dancing – the kid's never energy died, _jeez_ – and Xiggy was no where in sight (probably off dealing shit in the back), Roxas was currently off to the side of the _ruffians_.

He was not alone though – he had some trashy-looking brunette up against the wall, whom he was currently engaging with in all sorts of not-exactly-PG activities. Axel narrowed his eyes, looking away.

_This is _so_ not fair_, Axel thought, raising a hand to get Elizabeth's attention. He didn't have the heart to enjoy himself, after seeing that. Little pricks of jealousy were attacking him from every angle – that stupid girl. Wait – Axel shook his head. _It is _Roxas' _birthday. _You_ brought him here, dumbass_. Still though – he couldn't shake off the secret wish that he could be in that girl's place right now.

As Elizabeth poured him another shot, Axel barely even chatted with the chick. Dammit, now his whole friggin' evening was ruined – there really wasn't anything to make it worse for Axel.

Oh, wait; but it could – the girl was dragging Roxas to the back door, right past Axel. As he stumbled by, flimsy grin on his face, Roxas grabbed his friend's arm. Voice husky and words slurred, Roxas breathed into Axel's ear (Axel tried to stay focused at this),

"I'm going out – call you tomorrow or something." Well, that was _after _Axel translated mentally. Roxas was so smashed, the words would have been incoherent if Axel didn't have experience with drunk Roxas before. They'd all been rushed – the girl was holding Roxas' hand, tugging him to come along – slurred and just shitty. Totally shitty.

The girl dragged a stumbling Roxas out the back door, giggling the whole time. Stupid, shitty, crappy, stupid… gah. Axel wished he had a bigger vocabulary.

Everything sucked. Now supremely upset, Axel ordered yet another shot. He was gonna need all the alcohol he could get if he wanted to enjoy himself at _all _tonight.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Whoa! Sora – slow down!" Kairi squealed.

Running a hand through his messy brown hair, Sora laughed and grabbed Kairi's hand with his other free hand. Damn, it was boiling in this place… but _everything_, the sounds, the smells, the _people_… Sora almost yanked Kairi again, in his eagerness to explore everything. How he _wished _his own hometown had this much culture, this much vigor and life… there was a tug on his hand, and looking behind him, he felt Kairi stopping in front of a stall selling little rice-bread pouches, filled with what looked like yellow potato and spices in them. _Mmm… potatoes_.

That scent was prominent, and Sora _did _love the damn things. There was a few other scents of vegetables he didn't recognize, but _damn_, did it smell _good_. Kairi smirked a little at him, and she quickly ordered two of whatever they were for them.

Smiling, Sora stepped into the shade – considering the sun was still high in the sky, as it was late afternoon. While he waited for her to make her selections, his eyes caught on to something colourful. Raising an eyebrow, he gently eased out of Kairi's hand (who was currently making light, broken conversation with the cook). Making his way over to the stall, he found himself surrounded in colourful shawls, clothes and jewellery. The place smelled of spicy wood and old perfume – but pretty, nonetheless. Sora grinned, and glancing at Kairi (still distracted), he sorted through the shawls till he found something. _Perfect_.

A sharp, lime green shawl with delicate yellow embroidery caught his eyes, flower designs tailing the ends. Graceful tassels clung to the ends, shimmering along with the rhinestones embedded into parts of it. The material was silky but netted in his hands – soft, smooth, pretty, but just a little bit rough – Sora smirked again.

Quickly paying for the shawl, Sora came up around his girlfriend, who now held two rice-rolls (or whatever they were) in her hand. She wasn't facing him, but she must have known he was approaching, because she said aloud,

"Sora, come here you bum, I got your food and – " Kairi gasped as the silky scarf wrapped around her abdomen, tugging. Kairi spun around immediately – but her angry expression melted the moment she saw her grinning boyfriend.

Sora leaned forwards and tugged the scarf a bit more that he held in both his hands. Kairi, smirking, didn't resist and came closer to him. Leaning over, he nuzzled her cheek gently with a smirk of his own. Kairi giggled – she couldn't do anything back though, seeing as to how there was a rice-roll wrapped in paper in each hand, that she was holding to her sides. Sora took advantage of the extra space, and moved in.

"Look, Kai," he whispered teasingly, giving the shawl a bit of a jerk. Mmm… she smelt like strawberries, even in this foreign place. Strawberries and sugar and wonderful… Sora tensed for a moment, pulling him out of his thoughts – Kairi had pulled away from his grasp, and was now resting her forehead against his. Deep blue eyes sparkling, she teased,

"Dumbie, it doesn't even match me." Sora laughed and pressed his lips to her forehead, relishing in her soft skin in spite of the mild sweat. Eh – everything about Kairi still seemed right to him. He pulled her even closer, and slowly, since it was too hot outside, he began to tie the shawl around her hips. Kairi squirmed a bit, but giggled, eyes still meeting his.

"I know it doesn't," Sora said mildly, touching his forehead to hers. Pulling back, he gently kissed her cheeks before saying, "I saw it, and it just jumped out at me – pretty, fierce and a little bit unpredictable." Kairi giggled again here, but gently shoved him off of her with her wrists. Mild grease stains hit his shirt, but Kairi rested her wrists on her hips and leaned in to say,

"You're so lame, Sora."

"Isn't that why you love me?" he asked, eyes twinkling. Kairi laughed again, and pulling up one of the rice-rolls, she put it to his mouth. Sora took a bite, snapping playfully at her hand.

"Hey!" she squeaked, and dodged the attack, bouncing back playfully. Sora pouted a little, but couldn't say anything as he was chewing on his food. Hmm… yeah, definitely potatoes, and… something kind of turnippy, oniony, something tasting.

Sora winced a bit. Eww… he hated onions. If that's what it even was.

Kairi must have noticed his expression, because she chuckled and bouncing her head from side to side, she leaned in and kissed him briefly on the lips before saying,

"Of course I love the corniness. What girl wouldn't?" And with that, she playfully flicked his forehead. Sora whimpered in mock pain, and Kairi laughed and walked away, munching happily on the roll. They continued to stroll forwards.

Kairi took another bite, and suddenly made a face. "Ugh…this doesn't taste that great."

"Really?" Sora piped up. "I like it." Even though it had a squishy taste to it. He held out his hand, and Kairi placed the roll in it.

"You would," she teased. Sora shrugged, already starting on Kairi's piece. Now that his one hand was free, she intertwined her fingers with his again. Something churned in his stomach.

"What now?" she asked, as she looked around at all the different vendors calling out their wares. Sora wasn't sure if he wanted to do anymore shopping… he'd gone this 

morning with Naminé to buy a new sketchbook, and a charger for himself, picking up little trinkets along the way. Sora frowned.

"Hey Kai… I think those things made me a little thirsty," Sora said. His throat was left feeling dry, and he was finding it difficult to gather any spit in his mouth.

"We can get a drink, if you like," replied Kairi. He could tell she was watching him closely now. Kairi furrowed her brows, asking, "Are you okay?"

Sora started to rub at his mouth; his lips and gums were getting drier by the minute.

Suddenly, a flaming-hot poker pierced the inside of his stomach, and the pain shot up through his ribs. _What the _hell? He groaned involuntarily.

"Sora?" Kairi gazed at him, eyes awash with worry.

"It's okay – I'm all right," Sora insisted. "It's just a cramp, really." _Cramp,_ his ass, but he wasn't going to let Kairi know that.

A shudder ran through him, and he bent over slightly. A slight ache was starting to pound its way into his head.

"Sora – let's go back to the hotel now," Kairi said, gripping his arm. She was chewing her lip.

"But we've still got time until we meet up!" he cried. _No,_ he wasn't ready to go yet! There were still people he wanted to talk with, see stuff that Naminé showed him from the guidebook – _ugh, no_!

Sora shook his head, trying to straighten his back, and took a deep breath.

No pain.

He let out a sigh. _Okay._ It was over – just a temporary pain – probably the _damn_ onions, ugh, how he hated them _so_ much.

"Okay, let's go," Sora said, snatching Kairi's hand up again. "There's still time – come on, I wanted to show you – "

His breath hitched. The world blurred before him, before acid engulfed his throat. _No!_ He stumbled over to the side of the road, and his knees gave out. The contents of his stomach churned ferociously, before they were making their way back up his throat. _No!_

He coughed violently, releasing the pent-up rage in his stomach. He could feel Kairi's iron grip around his shoulders.

"Sora!"

The world wasn't getting any clearer; sounds of the busy bazaar drifting far away from his ears. He started to shake slightly.

"Come on – we've got to go –"

Her muffled voice barely reached his ears, as the world suddenly swayed, and fell away from beneath him.

* * *

**A/N:** Haha, cliffhanger. AND a LONG chapter. I'm sorry. XD For those that were wondering about how different Whiplash is, they present some contrast for LiD, as you saw in this chapter; what with the situations and such. A nice juxtaposition (hehe big word) if I do say so myself. ANYWHOS, thank you all soooo much for reading this far, and it would be ever so kind of you all to _review_! Thanks again!

XX-diamonds-XX


	8. The Morning After

**A/N: **Ah! Please don't kill me! – hides – I know it's been awhile, but this chapter was really hard to put together… I'm sorry guys. I promise it won't happen again… :-(

So…

Did I ever tell you how much I LOVE you guys? Thank you SO much for reviewing – it really means a lot! XD

I think you guys will like this one – well, I hope anyways ;-) And since it's been so long, this chapter is another _mammoth_ one, I think hitting up to 30 pages. I want to wrap up these cities – Sandsea and Tortuga – in this chapter, so bear with me. Enjoy!

_**NOTE: **_LiD's and Whiplash's time frames are _**NOT**_ happening simultaneously. **Roxas** wakes up in the morning; **Sora** wakes up in the afternoon, in the same day. I know, a bit confusing, but again, bear with me guys. XD

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to Square and Disney… damn them…

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Eight:_ "The Morning After"

* * *

Everything pulsed around him. He felt light, lying, floating in the middle of nowhere. _Ugh…_ The pounding in his head had retreated to a dull ache.

"… _Long has… been?"_

"… _Be okay?" _

A veil of black curtained around, muffling the voices. When he strained to hear the voices, it only made everything hurt that much worse. He tried to squeeze his eyes shut in pain, but how would he know? He couldn't even feel himself.

Empty.

"_Rik…where'd… go?"_

"… _Gone… just left to get…"_

He tried to move his head, and he was vaguely aware that something shifted beneath him. Legs. He was resting in someone's lap, that much he knew. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized he didn't have to guess to know whose it was.

"…'_ll be okay…promise…"_

Everything still pulsed, a wave passing through him. _Where… am I?_

"_Sora?"_

He heard no more.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Brilliant light tickled Roxas face, violating the darkness that he currently been resting in. Roxas squeezed his eyes shut – nope, no good. His head started to pound, and his entire body screamed in protest. For a second, he tried to sit up – immediately his neck cried out in pain at the heaviness of Roxas head. Okay, okay; he'd lie down.

Using his other senses… okay, Roxas knew he was on something soft. Fluffy. Pillow! Pillow under his head… bed! Roxas was lying on a bed. His brain pounded for a moment at the thought, a rush of blood swirling up to compensate. Shit… okay… bed… that was kind of rough against his skin. All his skin. Okay, Roxas was naked. Wait – _naked_? What the… Roxas let out a low moan, forcing his eyes open.

Yup. Naked on a bed, blanket coming up to his chest however. Room? Bleh… squinting, he could make out it was a nice room. Really nice. Like, hotel-nice. How did he… where had he… the curtains were billowing from the breeze outside, kinda like a flag… ah! Ship! Pirates! _Right_… Roxas had been at the _Black Pearl_… then…

Roxas groaned at the thought process. Tasting liquor and plaque against his teeth, Roxas grimaced and threw a hand over his eyes. He _hated _mornings like these: confused, painful and hazy. Aloud, he groaned, "What did I _do_?"

"Me, silly," a voice giggled nearby. Roxas shot up in the bed, and quickly paid the price of a swirling stomach, rush of blood to the head and overall pounding. Dammit! This always seemed to happen when he got utterly smashed at parties – waking up next to some stranger – and worry was always the first emotion to settle in once the pain soothed out.

"Who – ?" In front of him, was a young woman who looked his age, maybe a bit older, who was generally pretty, if she hadn't coated so much damn make-up on. She was already dressed, and sitting on the edge of the bed, holding out a coffee for him. Roxas accepted the drink, against his better judgements – but he _did_ hate mornings, they were _always _cold. She got up, and started throwing clothes in a suitcase.

"Not important," the woman said – on closer inspection, Roxas could see she was at least Axel's age or something. Probably a bit older… twenty-ish, maybe? What was _she_ doing with _him_? Then again, she probably thought he was legal too… at the party… gah. 

His head was pounding again at memories. So he'd slept with a chick a few years older… no biggie… wait… ignoring her comment, he looked up at her.

"Are you…" Roxas struggled for the words as he sipped his bland coffee – kinda wishing it was hot chocolate. Was she… _sick? HIV-positive? Pregnant? _"… all right?"

Sick, he could take care of. HIV, he was screwed. Pregnant? Dammit, Roxas didn't _want _to be a teen dad, and he didn't have the _heart_ to just walk out on the girl… so… crap! He'd end up having to marry some bitchy girl he didn't even like, then they'd have a dysfunctional, shitty family where Roxas became some loser always drunk off his ass… and… and…

"I'm fine; don't worry," she giggled again as she cleaned her items off the dresser. "I made sure we were safe." Putting the coffee on the bedside table, Roxas sighed in relief and fell back in the bed. Ow, okay; not smart. Even fluffy pillows made his hung-over head pound. He heard her voice again, "I've paid for the room till about noon, so you have until then to get yourself together."

"Where… where are you going?" Roxas frowned a bit, eyes closed. The whole get-laid-and-go thing was always a bit… rude to him. Every time this happened, he found himself struggling for the perfect words to eliminate any awkwardness. She distracted him by laughing as she fixed her chestnut hair into a quick ponytail,

"I gotta get to the airport – my parents, friends and fiancé are all waiting for me back home. This was a little _me-time _vacation." She must have noticed the stricken look at the word _fiancé _on Roxas' face, because she snickered, "Oh, don't be like that. He isn't nearly as good as you were – but he's got money, so I'm happy."

_So do I, _was Roxas' initial response. After a quick mental slap, Roxas realized with loathing the arrogance of that thought. Stupefied and completely speechless, he thought, _money? Fiancé? I friggin'… helped a gold-digger cheat? Eh? Does that make me an asshole? _Yes, a voice responded in his head.

The girl, who a moment ago had seemed so sweet, swept over to him. Planting a brief kiss on his stiff lips, she said, smirking, "You're not the only one. Just keep it to yourself, okay? Everything was awesome; don't worry." She ruffled his blonde hair, and Roxas nodded absently, too disgusted with her – with _himself_, dammit, to say anything.

The door clicked shut, and she was gone, leaving Roxas with wrinkled sheets and muddled memories of sin. It wasn't until she left that he realized, _I don't even know her name_. Roxas was convinced; he was most definitely a cheating, rowdy, uncivilized, horrible asshole.

Quickly, he got up to shower. Maybe that'd wash _something _away.

Minutes later, he was running a brush over his teeth. Roxas glared at his reflection (noticing all sort of rather intense _love marks _the woman had left on him), wearing only the hotel towel around his hips.

_Gold-diggers_, was the only word that was running predominantly through his head. Guilt and dirt seemed to cling to him, and no matter how hard he had scrubbed in the shower, Roxas couldn't shake it off; couldn't sober up. It wasn't so much as the screwing part that got him… _she cheated_. Adultery. Hell, why was Roxas doing this in the first place? Why couldn't – when had he… argh! His head started to pound, protesting any thought. _At least,_ Roxas told himself with a grimace, _I'm not leaning over the toilet bowl right now._

Any compliments she'd thrown his way, any pleasure he'd derived from the night was seriously tormenting him now. Gah. _Gold-diggers_. Roxas… Roxas didn't like to flaunt it, but his family was more than just _loaded_. They were… well, upper-class barely did them justice. And they say karma's a bitch, so… what if _Roxas _ended up with some… some sleazy, money-hungry, demanding wife in the future, who slept around with other guys behind his back? Wouldn't that _suck _ass? Why the _frig'_ couldn't he keep a handle on… it… everything… ?_ Forget it_.

Moody, Roxas stepped into the main room, cursing at the draft from the open window. Storming over, he slammed it shut – in only his towel, so he hoped no one was staring too much – and leaned on the sill, looking for his clothes. _Shit_. Okay… hoodie? Um… right by the door. T-shirt? Hanging off the dresser mirror. Pants? Crap… pants… okay, crumpled up at the foot of the bed. Boxers? Right – beside the bed, and looking like they were in no condition to wear.

Awww shit. He refused to wear pants with no boxers like some sicko – _you _are_ a sicko, loser_ (shut up)– so groping through his pants, he pulled out his cell phone.

Against his better judgement, he speed-dialled the first number that came to mind. After a few rings, a groggy, grumpy voice answered,

"Whaddya wan'?" A yawn.

"Axel?" Roxas asked anxiously. He almost _heard _his friend perk up on the other side. "Uhh… look, I'm staying at (he glanced at the emblem on his towel) _The Empress_ Hotel… no, I don't know the address, you look it up – and yeah, I kinda need you to come pick me up. And, uh, bring clothes, please." Roxas winced, expecting the worst response and –

"Oh?" Axel teased, sounding much more awake now. _Figures_. "What did you do to your old clothes?"

"Nothing!" Roxas blurted hastily. He quickly cursed his response, realizing exactly where that would lead. And as expected, he heard,

"… heh. Would that be the current, ah, state of affairs, too?"

"No! Uh… I mean… towel! I… er… just get over here, dumbass!"

Axel snickered on the other end, and with a promise and good-bye, he hung up. Roxas cursed his phone, and moved to collect his old clothes. The boxers, however, he 

trashed in the bin next to the mirror – which Roxas refused to look into. His face was burning up as it was.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The sun's gentle rays tugged at his eyes, and they fluttered open. He shifted slightly, while his vision adjusted to the light. He could feel his limbs responding, though his muscles felt stiff. Huh.

He turned his head slightly; ignoring the pain of moving his neck muscles, and saw Tidus sitting at a table, his head bowed as he studied what looked like a map before him.

Licking his dry lips, Sora managed to call out in a hoarse voice,

"Tidus?" The said blond's head shot up.

"Sora!" he cried, quickly getting up from the table. Making his way towards his bedside, he asked, "How ya feelin'?"

Sora shifted, and tried to sit up, but a wave of light-headedness quickly brought him back down.

"Whoa, easy there little man. Don't hurt yourself," Tidus said, a slight grin in place. He turned around, and shouted, "Hey, Rik! Come here – Sora's up!" There was a pause before a silver head suddenly poked through the doorway, a phone to his ear. He locked eyes with Sora briefly, before nodding at them, and disappearing again.

Sora swallowed, just _knowing_ that Riku was not going to let this go; there'd be a lecture, if not now, then definitely later – he was sure of it.

Sora groaned. He really wanted, no, _needed_ to sit up, so Tidus anchored him, settling him against the headboard. Sora asked, "Ugh, what happened? What time is it?"

"It's been almost a day since you last passed out. It's around after noon," Tidus replied, just as Riku walked into the room. Sora caught the relief in his eyes, despite the nonchalant expression. He strode over, and sat down on the edge of Sora's bed.

"Hey – feeling any better?" Riku asked, quietly. Sora shrugged, muscles slightly aching with the movement.

"I guess. What happened, anyways? How'd I get here?"

"Well," Tidus began, sitting on Sora's other side, "apparently you ate something bad, and you got food poisoning. You were stuck in the bathroom last night, throwing up for like an hour or something."

"Food poisoning? What was it?"

"Uncooked, or maybe, infected seafood. It's not very common here," Riku picked up. _Ah_, Sora realized. That's what that nasty, squishy, onion-like stuff was. He shuddered. "Me and Kairi went back afterwards, and checked it out," he added, narrowing his eyes at the floor. Sora winced internally.

"Did you… say anything to the guy?" Sora asked, eyeing Riku's side. Tidus laughed out loud, and smacked Riku's shoulder.

"Of _course_, he did. When does Riku ever pass up the opportunity to scold?" Sora narrowed his eyes at Riku.

"It wasn't his fault." Riku shrugged.

"Whatever."

Sora rolled his eyes in exasperation, after exchanging a glance with Tidus. The blond drummer only smirked and shook his hair.

"Kairi called us as soon as she could," Tidus continued, "and it took us a while to figure out where you were. She said some girl and her friend helped you out, but she didn't mention her name. And she wasn't there when we arrived… she was a good help, though."

"Oh." _That's too bad_, Sora thought. He would've liked to thank this stranger… maybe she was still around somewhere? Kairi would point her out to him…_Hmm_. Something stirred in his stomach, and it wasn't nausea. He looked around before asking, "Where _is_ Kairi? And Naminé?"

Tidus shrugged. "Around. Downstairs, I think. We should call them up –"

"And have Kairi start bawling again?" Riku retorted, rolling his eyes. "I think their reunion can wait."

Sora widened his eyes. "What? What are you talking about?"

"She's been blaming herself," Riku replied simply. "She thinks it's her fault that you're here, and –"

"But it's not!" Sora protested. "It's really not! She didn't know any better than I did – we thought it was…well, _fun_ –"

Tidus sighed. "Dude, we _know_. We've only been trying to tell her that ever since. Naminé's been doing the best she can, you know?"

"Is that where they are now? Kairi doesn't want to see me?" Sora could feel his chest getting heavy with the weight of his heart.

"Nah. I think Kairi's kind of gotten over it. Naminé did a good job. But you should still talk to her – let her know everything's okay, you know?"

"Yeah, _please_," Riku added, "I can't take it anymore. I don't how many times we've gone after her, or how many times I've tried talking to her… you, next to Naminé, has the best shot at consoling her."

Sora nodded. Hmm… he wondered how Kairi was feeling now…

"So…what now?" Sora asked. "Can I leave the bed? Can – oh crap!" Sora widened his eyes, and he looked from Riku to Tidus. "We're not going to be late for Finals, are we? Dammit… I screwed up, didn't I? Aw…" He slumped his shoulders. He'd been so carried away in these surroundings that he forgot to keep himself in check for Finals. It was only supposed to have been a one-day stop… but now it was two.

"Ah, forget about it," Tidus said brightly. "Me and Riku figured out a way to get us there. We'll have to give up a pit-stop, but oh well. We'll make it; don't worry."

Sora wasn't convinced – he glanced at Riku. Riku only sighed, glancing back at Sora. "T's right. We'll be fine, don't worry about it – it's not like we couldn't anticipate this kind of stuff, right? It was going to happen."

Sora still couldn't help the guilt in his stomach, though. If only he hadn't… if only he'd been more careful…

"Sora!" a voice screeched from the doorway. Sora blinked; a tuft of auburn hair bounded into his vision. His bed suddenly jumped; he would've been tackled too, had Riku's arm not shot out and held Kairi back.

"Sora!" she cried again, fidgeting around Riku's shoulder. "You're okay! I was _so_ worried – "

"Kairi," Riku interrupted. "Calm down. Let him rest." She quieted down, and Riku carefully let go of her. "Be good," he said to her, smirking. Sora couldn't help but grin, and he nudged her with his leg.

"Miss me much?" he teased. Kairi glared at him but it was offset by her soft smile. He looked past her; it was then that he noticed Naminé. She smiled and walked over, holding a tray.

"Think you can hold something down?" she asked, setting the tray down on the nightstand beside him. Tidus grinned widely.

"And look at this – you've had your own personal nurse for the past day. She's the one who knew what to do," he said, easing a glance towards her. Naminé flushed.

"I-it's nothing. Really," she said, ducking her head. "I just had a friend who went through the same thing at the Academy." Her blue eyes focused on Sora briefly, before going back to the tray. "You're lucky, you know? At least you're not stuck in a hospital coughing up blood because of some infection."

Sora held his stomach, and though he was not nauseous, the thought of what she just said made him so. Kairi had drawn up her knees over Sora's legs, and she watched him carefully.

"You really okay?" Sora nodded.

"Yeah. I just kinda wish I hadn't fallen sick, you know? I missed so much." Kairi bit her lip.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He glanced up, and she looked away. "It's… I should've…" Sora barely caught the quick exchange of glances between the three.

"It's not your fault," Sora heard himself say. He wasn't even thinking it – he just knew he _had_ to say it. Kairi looked back at him, surprised.

"You heard me – and you've heard everyone else too, I know. Stop blaming yourself, Kai. I don't blame you," he added softly. He could see that Riku and Tidus were fidgeting, clearly not wanting to be here. But Sora didn't care. He needed to say this now; he needed to get it off his chest. Naminé was only watching Kairi with knitted brows and frown.

Kairi looked away. She was still sitting with her knees drawn up over Sora's legs, but she now rested her head on her knees. Her loose bangs were covering her profile, so he couldn't see what she was thinking. Sora nudged her with his leg, but she didn't respond.

"Kai…" he whined. "Come on… don't be like that. Guys?" He looked around at the others for help.

"Kairi…" Tidus started, running a hand through his hair. "Come on. We've already been through this."

She shot her head up. "You don't get it, do you? This _is_ my fault. Other groups have _already_ passed through here, didn't you know? They're _already_ at Twilight City. We're behind!"

"Argh, Kairi!" Riku spoke up, irritated. "This isn't your fault – not alone, anyways! This is as much as Sora's fault as it is yours, for crying out loud."

"_Or_," Naminé said, finally, giving both Riku and Tidus a frown, "it's _no one's_ fault. Accidents and mistakes happen, all right? We'll be a little late, but you guys will still arrive in time for the _competition_. It'll work out."

"Naminé's right," Sora said, eyeing Kairi carefully. "We'll make it work. And besides, if there's going to be any fault, then it's both of ours, okay? We're in it together."

Kairi sighed in defeat. "Fine," she muttered, but Sora only nudged her harder. "O_kay_, I get it," she added. "It's not my fault. Got it."

Ah, it'll have to do, Sora thought. He'd talk to her alone about it later, but for now, this was enough.

"So," Naminé said, and Sora looked towards her. "Uh, you think you can drink this?" she asked, holding a cup out to him. A sudden foreboding arose inside his gut. He looked in the cup, and saw a translucent olive-green liquid. Sora blinked.

Ah, crap.

"Ew, no!" he groaned loudly. They all turned to look at him; even Kairi had raised her head from her knees to peer at Sora. Ugh… he _hated_ liquid medicine! It was horrible and disgusting and just outright made his tongue squirm at the assortment of nasty flavours, he thought, as he stared into the unfathomable liquid.

Why was Naminé giving him liquid – what happened to pills? He had been more than ecstatic to learn when he'd come of age to take them – hell, he had been ready to drain all the medicine from the cabinet, a few years back. Sora recalled the many times when his mom (and Riku, if he was there) had to corner him to drink the nasty stuff, the worst being when he had hidden on a shelf in a closet for two hours… _crap_, were they pissed off.

"Well?"

Damn – and Riku was sitting right there. Between his mom and Riku, he didn't know who was worse.

"You don't need any… help, do you?" Riku said, turning halfway to quirk an eyebrow at him. His face was nonchalant, but his aqua eyes were piercing. Sora swallowed.

Riku. It was _definitely_ Riku.

"Um… can't this wait, until… you know, later?" Sora asked, in a rather high voice.

"_Sora_…"

"Oh, Sor, just take it," Kairi piped up. She leaned back on her hands, and watched him, a glint of amusement in her eyes, after having thrown a wary glance at Riku. "Oh!" She exchanged a look with Naminé. Naminé blinked, before nodding in understanding.

"What?" Sora asked, interest piqued. Naminé smiled wide, and she leaned forward.

"Me and Kai have a surprise for you," – Sora's eyes widened at this – "but we're not saying a word until you finish your cup!" Naminé teased, holding a finger to her lips.

"Aww… not fair! What is it? Come on, tell me! I'm sick, be nice!" Tidus snorted, as Naminé shook her head. Even Riku looked amused, despite the roll of his eyes. But they didn't say anything – they all watched Sora instead. He sighed, raising the cup to his lips. _This better be worth it…_

"Ack! It's so bitter!" he gagged, after taking a swallow.

Naminé laughed softly. "It's herbal – what did you expect? Cotton candy?" Everyone was still looking at him, so Sora only made a face, and he pinched his nose, drinking what he could. When he'd finished, she took the cup from him, and her smile grew wider. Sora perked up.

"Well? So, what is it?"

Naminé's eyes twinkled. "Well… me and Kairi found out earlier this morning that there's a street festival going on tonight. I don't know what it's called, couldn't quite catch the phrase, but it's something that happens to celebrate the start of a new season. Everyone'll be there – the streets are going to be packed with people!"

"_Awesome!_ Can I go? Can I, huh?" Sora cried, looking around. His eyes rested on Riku. "Well? Please?" Riku looked over at him, his long, silver bangs covering his eyes, but Sora caught the small curve of his lips.

"YES!" Sora cheered, throwing off the covers. But Riku called out sternly,

"Hang on a sec. You can only go if you're feeling well – "

" – I'm feeling _fine_," Sora quipped, sliding forwards –

" – And you won't throw up – "

" – Of course not – " Sora made his way to stand up –

"And –"

"I _know_! –" but Riku suddenly threw an arm around his neck in a tight headlock against his chest.

"Hey!"

"_And_… you'll be careful, got it?" his tone softer. "I still intend to kick your ass for this."

Sora tried to struggle out of the headlock, but he suddenly watched as Tidus leaned over and noogied him on the head. "Hey, save some for me," he laughed, "It wasn't easy carrying him up a flight of stairs, the friggin' rock."

Riku let go, and Sora stood up carefully. He didn't feel dizzy, nor did he feel the need to throw up – two good signs – but he still felt kind of shaky. He could only hope that the tea he drank would stay in.

"So when's the party start?"

Naminé clasped her hands behind her. "In a few hours. The vendors are going to close their shops early for it, and people are starting to decorate. There's going to be plenty of food available…" she said, warily.

"… Of which, you will _not_ be touching, of course," Riku finished, eyeing Sora. Sora slumped his shoulders.

"Aw man…"

"Hey man, we re-routed the trip, just so you could enjoy this festival. Be grateful," Tidus half-scolded, half-smirked.

"This is going to be awesome!" he cheered, fisting the air. His smile wide, he added, "Thanks guys."

"Yeah, yeah," Riku said, getting up from the bed. The others, too, started to scatter out of the room. Tidus, though as he watched, went over to dig through the bags, coming up with a towel and handful of clothes. "Heads up, dork." He threw the pile at Sora.

"Hey!"

Tidus smirked. "Go take a bath, smelly – you've been wearing the same clothes since yesterday."

Sora made a face, and pulling of his shirt as he headed towards the bathroom, he chucked it onto Tidus' head.

"Smell _that_, bonehead," he said irritably, his lips quivering at Tidus throwing the shirt aside in laughter, before shutting the bathroom door closed.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Axel practically sprang into the hotel elevator (much to the alarm of fellow hotel guests, that is), a duffel bag with Roxas' stuff over his arm. Heh, poor flustered Roxas with only a towel on – figures. Roxas could randomly sleep with some chick from a party, but when his best friend gets a little too suggestive? Stutters up like a school-girl.

Not that Axel minded. Axel liked school-girls, with those damn kinky uniforms.

Axel stepped out of the elevator, passing some blonde-haired girl in a prepped up outfit. Too preoccupied with not-quite-proper thoughts, Axel bounded down the hall. As he approached the room number – _124_ – Axel couldn't resist a smirk when he knocked. And, as expected, Roxas answered the door tentatively, garbed in nothing but –_ gasp!_ A towel hugging his thin hips. His friend was pink in the face, but was determinedly looking Axel right in the eye. Damn – Roxas was smarter then he looked; by holding Axel's gaze with his gorgeous azure orbs, he was distracting Axel's eyes from wandering. Stupid Roxas.

"Hey, buddy," Axel said, chucking the bag at Roxas as he stepped inside. Damn – the hotel room was pretty nice place; better than Jack's boathouse. Then again, it was probably still crap compared to the gi-normous place _Roxas _lived in.

"Hey," Roxas managed back, hastily putting the bag on the bed and rummaging through his clothes. Not watching Axel, Roxas said, "I – uh – thanks, you know. I know I kinda ditched you guys at the party, but I mean…"

"No worries!" Axel proclaimed, sitting down on the vanity chair by the dresser, feet resting on top of said surface. "It _was_ your birthday – you were supposed to enjoy yourself!" _Didn't have to go so overboard, though_, Axel added sulkily in his head. Axel cursed the voice into shutting-up though.

Roxas grinned gratefully at his friend – washing away any bitterness Axel had felt from last night – and left to go change in the washroom, to Axel's mild dismay. He didn't mind having almost-naked Roxas around, even if Axel didn't have the heart (_or the guts_, a voice hissed in his mind) to actually come on to the poor kid. Roxas look embarrassed as it was.

Axel smirked slightly at his paranoid, moody, touchy, adorable, kind-hearted, loyal, fierce, independent… gah. There he went again, with the obsessive-ness. All the same… Axel let out a sigh, tipping the chair back.

Soon enough, Roxas had changed, and they had locked up the room and were walking down the hallway. Roxas had abandoned the hoodie –_ simply amazing_, though Axel knew better than to say it – and was wearing an extremely baggy red t-shirt with some famous skater's logo on it (pffft, Roxas always dug that skating shit, and as lame as Axel found it, he put up with the sport for the blond's sake). Along with that, he was wearing denim blue jeans, and stuck his navy blue baseball cap _somehow_ over his messy blond hair.

They were almost at the end of the hall when –

"Get back!" Roxas hissed as he grabbed Axel's arm. Axel scowled, rubbing his neck and prepared to growl something when he saw almost _fear_ flickering in Roxas' eyes as the blond stared ahead. Following his gaze, Axel started – wait… that wasn't…

… _Larxene_?

Axel fists clenched, but took Roxas' lead and didn't say anything to the step-sister's back. Wait… hadn't he just passed her? Why hadn't he caught it then, dammit? Pushing the thoughts from his mind though, Axel resisted the urge to grab Roxas' hand. They were standing a ways back, and she hadn't even glanced around her as she'd stepped out of the hotel room and headed downstairs. After she left, Roxas let out a breath beside him – Axel felt a sweep of anger coming through him, knowing full well of Larxene's treatment of her year-younger step-brother.

"What's _she _doing here?" Axel hissed as he began to walk forwards again. Roxas, still biting his lip, said,

"I dunno. She said something to Dad and Mya about going away for the summer… but why the hell's she in _this _friggin' city?" Axel nodded absently – Larxene brought a whole new level to the term _bitch_, and a rowdy city like this was not anything a priss like her would hang out in. Axel actually remembered thinking she was _attractive _when they'd first met – however, Larxene had proved that wrong rather quickly.

Narrowing his eyes, Axel grabbed Roxas' wrist and dragged him to the room she'd just come out of. Perfect – she'd been in a hurry, and hadn't locked it up. That could mean she'd be coming back soon, as well. Roxas eyes widened, and he asked nervously,

"Wh-what are we doing?"

"Finding out why the hell she's here."

"No – Axel, just leave it, you don't know her – just – just give her space, and… and…"

Hearing his close friend stumble up on his words at the _thought _of what Larxene would do if she found out was all Axel needed. He shoved open the door and slipped inside, dragging a grudging Roxas with him.

Nothing special in the room – clothes, clothes, hair supplies, more clothes… the girl, for such a prepped up drama-queen, was rather messy. Roxas, on the other hand, was currently standing very uneasily by the door, ready to go.

Pure distaste was splattered on his face, and Axel was about to say something to his friend when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. That, and a high-pitched shriek of laughter accompanied by a male voice. _Shit_.

_What the hell?_ Larxene was about to enter, they couldn't get past her through the door, they couldn't… grabbing Roxas, they dove headfirst into the closet.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Here – like this."

Riku watched, as one of the local musicians – Neem, his name was – strum his guitar, plucking quickly at the strings as his hand ran down the fingerboard. "See?" he said.

Riku, who was sitting right beside Neem on a stool, his feet resting comfortably on its bars, placed his fingers in imitation on the fingerboard. He had borrowed an acoustic guitar from one of the local musicians, considering his own was still packed away, when the group had seen him watching with interest. He'd never heard music like this before, and he'd wanted to give it a try. Maybe even incorporate it into _LiD_'s music.

Riku began strumming his guitar; he picked up most of the notes rather easily. However, Riku thought with annoyance, there was always that place where his fingers fumbled over the strings, or the note that sounded either too high or too flat.

Like now.

"Dammit," he cursed under his breath, plucking the strings rather harshly.

Neem laughed lightly.

"Be patient! Don't rush – yet," he said, with a twinkle in his eye. Riku only set his jaw firmly, and nodded at Neem to show him again. Shaking his head, Neem started once again from the top, and Riku, bowing his head, concentrated on watching the pattern of Neem's fingers.

He was going to make this sound right, dammit, he thought, replacing his fingers back on the board. Riku once again picked up the piece, learning to play it in parts, as Neem finished. He closed his eyes, trying to hear the notes in his mind, setting the beat.

Riku started slowly, and as the notes he'd just heard moments ago flowed into his fingers, he gradually began to pick up the pace.

"Hey, there you go! Now you got it!"

He was strumming the guitar avidly; fingers dancing over the fingerboard, as his music memory relayed the notes. The tune was lively, and reverberated through the air. Neem, excited at seeing Riku catch on, began to harmonize with him, and before he knew it, a spontaneous session broke out. He could hear the addition of percussion from behind him, and another acoustic guitar. _Yes. _Riku was smiling now; he'd finally caught on.

"You did it!"

Riku started, almost choking on air, as he heard someone clap delightedly. He glanced up from his playing, and his eyes met a pair of crystal blue ones, imploring back at him.

Naminé.

His stomach did a little roll, as she smiled brightly at him and clapped her hands once in delight.

She'd been watching him? The entire time?

He could feel his face tingle, but he fought down the colour that was trying to gather on his face. He was _playing_, dammit. He avoided her eyes. He couldn't afford to look stupid, or _embarrassed_.

He continued playing, accompanied by Neem, and from the corner of his eye, he could see the small crowd that had gathered around her. And for the first time, he noticed they were clapping along to the beat of the music. Something stirred in his stomach, and whatever it was, it coursed through him.

_Don't be stupid, Riku. _Since when did crowds make him nervous? _Since a particular blonde had joined the mass._ Shit.

"Riku!" he heard Neem hiss. Riku accidentally fumbled a note, but recovered quickly – he could only hope no one else caught that. He saw Neem quirk an eyebrow. Riku only shook his head, allowing his long bangs to hide his eyes.

Riku and Neem wound down the song, and the once lively beat, slowing down. Neem finished his harmony quietly, leaving Riku to play out the last few notes, plucking the strings successively in a finish.

The small crowd burst out clapping, and this time, Riku couldn't hold down the blush. He grinned all the same, as he looked up, and noticed Neem too was smiling widely.

"_That was great!"_

"_Way to go!"_

Other fellow musicians surrounded him, and Riku returned the guitar, thanking the man. Neem patted his shoulder.

"Thanks," Riku said, turning around, and offering his hand. Neem grabbed it enthusiastically.

"No – thank you! That was brilliant!" Neem laughed heartedly, adding, "Best of luck with the competition – maybe we'll see you there?" Riku smiled and nodded, not really paying attention anymore. He'd noticed instead that Naminé had disappeared.

"For sure," he said, his gaze roaming over the small crowd. He quickly looked back at Neem. "I'll see you around then?" Neem smiled and nodded, watching as Riku started to weave around. _Dammit!_ Why did he look away? _Gah – stupid!_ He wondered she disappeared though.

Riku watched as an entertainer abruptly blew out fire from his mouth, and Riku raised his arm, shielding him from the sudden light.

It was then that he noticed her.

She stood a little off to the side, among another crowd gathered around, watching the magicians do their tricks. Naminé had her arms loosely wrapped around herself, her gaze lost in the show before her, not really watching it.

Riku sighed. He had a strong suspicion that this had something to do with him. Why, he couldn't say. He went over, weaving his way through, until he stood behind her. He tapped her on the shoulder.

She started; her head whipped around, and when her eyes met his, she looked away. _What…?_

"Naminé?"

She just turned her head, enough to catch her small smile. "You were really good," she said, softly. Her blue eyes sparkled from the lanterns lit all around them.

Riku furrowed his brows. "Why'd you leave?"

He didn't mistake the reddening of her cheeks. "Um… I thought… you didn't want me… there, or something. I… cheered, and you looked away. I…" she shrugged.

Riku winced – _you _are_ a dumbass, Riku._ He was starting to understand why Tidus and Kairi would give him hopeless looks from time to time. He wasn't very good at these things.

Riku rubbed the back of his neck, and eyed her carefully. "I… it wasn't supposed to come off like that. You, uh…" – Riku could feel his neck start to heat up – _dammit!_ – Where the hell was everyone else, anyways? "… distracted me, is all."

Naminé blinked; she bit her lip, as she studied him.

"Oh." She started to fiddle with her ice-blue skirt, which just brushed past her knees, in a slant cut. She wore a blue tank-top too, giving off the appearance of a dress, but she'd thrown on a translucent, white over shirt, tied off neatly in the front. _And all she needs is the sun hat_, Riku thought, lightly smirking to himself.

"Uh… so did you wanna do anything?" he asked, wishing that he hadn't sounded like an idiot.

Naminé smiled softly. "Before I found you playing, I was with the others. We were all watching some "struggle" or game or something – well, actually, Tidus and Kai joined."

"Not Sora?" Riku asked, brows raised. Naminé sent him a sideways glance.

"Did you think he would after what you told him?" She laughed slightly. "No, he was cheering them on."

"But… he was kind of depressed, wasn't he?" Naminé paused, before nodding in response. He figured as much – as bad as Riku felt, he couldn't let the kid get himself hurt. Not only would they be delayed again, but… he didn't want to see Sora stuck in a bed like _that_ again. He shook his head.

"You really worry about him, don't you?" Riku laughed, and slowly, they started to move away from the show.

"Well, somebody has to," he replied with a smirk, "Sora doesn't for himself – he thinks too much with his heart." Naminé, too, smiled. "I don't know how many times I've had to save his ass," he added, reflecting on all the trouble Sora'd ever gotten into.

"Hm… it's nice to have known a friend for so long…" Naminé said, her blue eyes lost in the surroundings. They were walking down the streets together, trying to avoid bumping into the countless children running around. "Over ten years now?"

Riku's smile was nostalgic now. "I've _known_ him for almost fifteen. But, I'd think, we've been _friends_ for about half the time."

"Oh?" Naminé asked, surprised. "I've always assumed…"

"That we were friends from the beginning, right?" Riku laughed. "Nah, I never really liked him at first. In fact… you could say I pretty much hated him."

Naminé tilted her head to look up at him, her eyes bright. "Really? Wow – how come? How'd you meet then?"

She almost crashed into someone ahead of her, lost in her questions. Riku quickly pulled her away, smirking as he grabbed her arm.

"Well…" he said, allowing Naminé to recover from her blush, "Our moms were really good friends. They spent a lot of time together, I think especially after Sora's dad passed away. When we got introduced – I think I was three when I met him – Sora took an instant liking to me. He grabbed hold of my nose, thinking it was a horn. And I hated him."

Naminé burst out laughing, and it filled his ears.

"What? I found him to be really annoying, you know." Naminé raised an eyebrow skeptically. Riku raised his own in challenge, "Okay, look - he was always tagging along, everywhere I went, and he did everything I did. If he bought a new game, he always made me play it. When I joined a sport, so did he. If _I_ bought something new, he wanted it too. He was _always _dragging a stupid wagon around, collecting rocks along the way, and when it got too heavy, he made me drag it. He _never_ stopped following me. You can't say that wasn't annoying."

Her smile grew even brighter. "He was _not_ annoying," she said, playfully. She tilted her head sideways, and looked up at him, saying, "It sounds like… he adored you."

Riku's smile waned, his eyes looking away, and for a moment, it felt like something had pricked his heart. "Yeah… my mom used to say the same thing…"

Naminé faltered, her cheeks slightly tinged, "Oh, sorry, I didn't –" But Riku forced a grin, and waved her off.

"Don't worry about it. It's okay." But her eyes never left his face. Riku looked around him, then. He saw that they had arrived at an intersection; people were dancing and twirling in beat of some drums. They moved in a circular fashion, whilst another circle moved inside the first, in the opposite direction. Riku couldn't figure out the steps for the life of him – he had no idea what they were doing. He looked over and found a stone wall to sit on – he motioned for Naminé to come sit with him.

She sat down next to him, tentatively, and he vaguely noticed that her leg was brushing his. He saw her swallow, and she asked,

"So… what happened then? How'd you, you know, become friends?" He grinned, appreciating the fact that she tried to change the subject for him.

He shrugged. "I dunno. I got really sick of him one day. I mean, the kid was only around me because he could be, you know? So one day, we were out on the islet offshore – the one _all_ the kids had to play on, you know? – because he'd begged me to. He wanted to play hide-and-seek…"

Naminé frowned. "You didn't…"

Riku nodded, the smile gone. "I did. I told him to go hide, and I never looked for him. I figured it was the easiest way to get rid of him. I went back home, and it wasn't until dinner time that Sora's mom came calling. And that's when the guilt kinda hit," he said, giving her humourless smile. The memory of the day flooded his mind, and it was all he could think about. "I went back and looked for him. I knew he couldn't have left the islet by himself, he knew he wasn't allowed to, you know? I searched everywhere for him, and I had started to think that maybe he'd fallen off a cliff, or gotten bitten by some random animal or… I dunno. Anything.

"I finally found him in this little cave by a waterfall," he continued, "The one all the kids had named the 'Secret Place'. I can't believe I hadn't thought to go there first. When I entered, I just found him sitting there, in the middle of the cave, just idly staring at the stone walls around him. When he turned and saw me…" An image of six-year-old Sora suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"What…?" she asked.

"When he saw me… he just jumped up and broke out into this huge grin, and said, 'I knew you'd find me.'"

Naminé sat back, awestruck. "He – he was just sitting there… waiting for you? The _entire_ time?"

Riku could feel himself smiling. "Apparently so. When I had actually looked over him, I saw that he had a large gash on his leg. I think he got it when he was crawling through. But hell, he didn't notice, 'cause after that, he was like, 'Took you long enough, stupid. My turn!' And then he started running out of the cave! The dumbass! Fours hours of hiding, and he _still_ wanted to play." Riku smirked and shook his head. "He cried when I told him it was time to go home, but I told him we would play again the next day, after he took care of his leg. And I meant it."

It was a moment before Naminé looked up at him with inquiring eyes. "He really trusted you." Her eyes softened. "And he still does."

Riku shrugged, and his thoughts lingered on what she said. Sora _did_ trust too much, even if he did trust Riku. Sometimes, Riku felt that Sora had too much faith in people – and he hated to admit that it scared him. That Sora's heart just might get him into trouble some day… Riku glanced at Naminé. "He trusts a lot of people. Even when I 

think he shouldn't be. Like that cousin of his…" he muttered darkly, his thoughts lurching in a not-so-friendly direction.

"Who, Roxas?"

Riku blinked. He noticed that she too had her brows furrowed. _Did I say that out loud?_

"Yeah…" he replied, his gaze lost in the colours of the festival before him. "I never liked that kid. I dunno – he just always… bugged me, you know?" Naminé inquired, her eyes thoughtful,

"Like, Sora-bugged?"

"Naw… more like, just… something doesn't feel right about him, get it? Like – "

"Don't you think you should say something to Sora then?" Naminé looked alarmed, and her eyebrows had risen in concern. In spite of himself, Riku burst out laughing. Shaking silver bangs out his eyes, Riku said,

"Oh, come on, Naminé! If there was really something, don't you think I'd have told him?" Because Naminé now looked confused, Riku continued, still laughing, "Ah… I don't actually have anything to base it off of… just this vibe, you know? Honestly – the way we act when Roxas is over is pretty sad, actually. If Sora didn't look like such a broken puppy when we fought, I'd have ripped that blond pansy's throat out a _long _time ago!"

"You _what_?!"

Regardless of the violent nature of his words, Riku was laughing at the idle thought. It _was _true… but he was more than willing to bet Roxas would gladly return the favor. Glancing up, he saw Naminé biting back a laugh in spite of her self – Riku grinned. Oh, just wait till she heard _this_.

"Hell, yeah – this one time back… oh, three years or something, Roxas flew down for Sora's birthday – it was gonna be a big party, especially since this was the first party with Kairi – and the big birthday dinner was a _mess_. Damn, Roxas and me screwed it up so bad, what with like death glares and these snide little comments we kept making… oh wow, Sora just ended up sulking upstairs in his room after."

"Aw, didn't you feel _bad_? It was his birthday!" Naminé was laughing though, even as she tried to remain serious. Riku softened a bit, but he was still grinning sheepishly when he admitted,

"Well… yeah. _Sorta_. I felt bad for ruining the big birthday party, but I mean… Roxas had it coming, jeez. Don't look at me like _that_, Naminé! We didn't actually fight, but it got pretty tense. Oh, man… I think I said I was sorry to Sora later, but I didn't have any intention – still don't – to say sorry to the blondie. Not like he's ever said anything either… we just kinda silently agreed to stop fighting – in front of Sora, anyways," he added with a smirk. _Maybe we _are_ getting too old for this._

"Well… that's a start, right?" Naminé was still smiling bemusedly though, eyes twinkling. Riku smirked back and brought one foot up onto the stone wall, resting his arm on the propped up leg.

A comfortable silence had settled around the two. Naminé, too, sat staring at the people dancing before them, her eyes searching. He hadn't noticed that a local band had started playing – the drums were now accompanied with acoustic guitars, and some other strange instruments that Riku hadn't quite caught all the names of.

_I'll have to get around to that_. Riku didn't even seem to care that full-force night was rolling, that they were a day late to the Finals, that no brilliant lyrics had danced their way into his head… no, right now, life was sounding pretty damn fine.

Before his eyes, men and women were twirling, bouncing and rushing like winds of a welcome storm. Bangles jingled in a thunderstorm of exotic dissonance; rains of brilliantly coloured suits and dresses swirled around them. Breathing in the sheer exhilaration of the foreign culture, Riku made up his mind and jumped to his feet.

Holding out a hand to Naminé, he offered as gallantly as he could (dammit, he never could pull it off like Tidus, ugh),

"Come on. Let's dance – otherwise the others will think we're just wet blankets who don't know how to have fun," he said with a laugh, hoping the anxiety in the pit of his stomach would just flutter away. Naminé couldn't hide the blush; it appeared on her face so fast.

"Are – are you _serious_?" she asked, eyes wide. Around them, drums were beating, fire cackled, and melodies of laughter filled the air. He could already feel the adrenaline pulse through his veins.

"Yeah – why not?" Naminé looked horrified.

"But we'll get lost in there!"

He had no idea what made him do it, but in an instant, Riku was standing before her, hands resting on either side of her on the wall. "No, we won't," he said, and he made sure to lock gazes with her. "I won't let you."

He felt the corners of his mouth tug when he saw her avert her eyes; her blush growing even deeper.

He laughed, and pushed himself off the wall. He held out a hand to her.

"Shall we?" With a smirk, he saw her blink several times – the radiant colour having never left her face – before she tentatively reached forwards.

Riku shook his head, and grasped her wrist instead. "Come on! I can't dance either – should be interesting, eh?" he said, laughing. Taking a deep breath, she allowed him to pull her off the wall. Vaguely aware that his heart had been hammering in his chest, he 

tugged her into the crowd of people, keeping a firm grasp on her wrist as he concentrated on weaving through. However, he couldn't shake the last image out of his head – despite her utter surprise, Naminé had smiled back at him.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Dammit! Friggin' stupid lousy friggin' – " Axel cut himself off, holding his head where it had collided with the clothes rack. Roxas would have glowered at his friend – this _was _friggin' Axel's fault they were in here, the idiot.

Roxas was thrashing about, hoping to get escape the avalanche of girlish clothes, but Axel's hand was clamped firmly over his mouth. Roxas supposed he could try the whole licking-the-hand thing, but somehow he guessed that just wouldn't gross someone like _Axel _out. He attempted to roar out something, but Axel threw an arm around Roxas' chest and tugged him uncomfortably close within the small closet.

Managing to worm his way out of Axel's hand, he hissed angrily,

"Axel, get off – "

"_Shhh_, she'll hear – "

"Shit! No! Do _not _put your hand there, do _not_ or I'll – "

"Why? Is your tummy your _sensitive_ spot?"

Roxas hated the snicker in Axel's voice, but he hated it even more when Axel walked his fingers across his flat stomach. He giggled – Roxas mother-friggin' _giggled_ – so what did he do after that? He shut the hell up and violently threw his head back in a demented form of a head butt – and it worked.

Roxas thick head smashed into Axel's taut jaw with a sickening crack, and Axel hissed in pain,

"You _shithead_, what the friggin' frig' is wrong with – " Roxas, eyes still watering in pain after the attack, jabbed Axel to shut him up. Rubbing his head, he was aware that his cap had fallen into the abyss of Larxene's crap around them. Axel complied, but probably because he heard the bed creaking with people sitting down. Roxas froze as well, momentarily forgetting that his friend was wrapped around him from behind.

"Did you manage to find it, Larxene? We need to know how much time we – "

"_Yes_, of course I did, Marluxia, otherwise I wouldn't have – "

"Do _not _interrupt me, Larxene." Roxas smirked in spite of himself – _ha_, it was nice to see _her_ being put in her place for once, jeez.

"Yes, _Marly_," Larxene replied caustically. Axel choked on a laugh behind him – and loosened the grip Roxas hadn't realized Axel had. Roxas quickly jerked forwards, 

desperate to escape his friend's proximity – not that he was successful. Closets were hardly built for two teenaged boys to fit in, let alone have free space between them.

"What did I say about calling me that, Larxene? Honestly, you women…"

"Excuse-me? I happen to think it suits you well, _Marly_." Roxas scowled, almost feeling sorry for this Marluxia person – his stepsister was one deaf bitch most of the time. Axel must have felt him tense up, because he put a hand on Roxas' forearm and comfortingly ran it up and down – to Roxas' utter horror.

"_Stop it_," Roxas hissed as quietly but vehemently as he could, looking over his shoulder. Axel smirked –_ holy crap_, the stupid idiot had no idea how uncomfortable Roxas was feeling because he friggin' _smirked – _and Roxas angrily stamped on Axel's foot, getting him to let go. The redhead shushed,

"_Don't you learn – _?"

"Marly, did you hear that?" Larxene's sharp voice interrupted Axel, and the redhead froze. Roxas sucked in a deep breath – _shitshitshit, if she comes over here and friggin' finds me in her friggin' closet she's friggin' gonna… gonna… _Run away! Was the only solution coming to mind. _Leap from the closet, punch her in the face before she can see you and _run!

Axel's damn intuition was starting to get annoying, because Axel grabbed Roxas' arm tightly and threw him a warning glance – he let go of Roxas' arm quickly though. Roxas gave Axel a hardened glare over his shoulder, wanting nothing more to escape Axel, escape the closet and escape the damn _room_, before –

"It's probably some of your ridiculous clothing falling over. Goodness knows you have enough of it." Roxas stopped moving, and let out the breath he'd been holding. Larxene slapped her hand down on what had to be the dresser surface – Roxas flinched instinctively. He'd been that dresser enough times to honestly feel sorry for it.

Axel ruffled his hair gently from behind, but nothing more – even though Roxas hadn't twitched away this time.

"Quiet, Marly. You probably have just as much as I do, and you know it."

"Oh come off it, woman. We're hear to discuss the matter at hand."

"Well, Marly, we're hardly going to be able to set anything into motion until we actually _get _to Twilight City."

Roxas started, furrowing his brow – Twilight City? What in the world could they want to do _there_? Without really thinking, Roxas lolled his head back on Axel's shoulder, and looking up he mouthed _"What?"_ at his fiery friend. Axel only raised an eyebrow in response.

Roxas went bright pink and shot his head up from Axel's shoulder – smashing Axel's jaw, _again_. Axel jerked backwards in pain, slamming into the wall – and Roxas felt something hard come crashing down on his own head.

"_Shit_!" Roxas hissed, realizing what had happened. Some of the other bags and boxes were teetering dangerously on the shelf above. _Shit shit shit…_

"Marly, that's it, I'm _sure_ there's something – "

"Then just go check, goodness."

Roxas froze. Axel froze.

Then, with rapid movements, they threw themselves sideways, flattening against the side walls, just out of the sight of the door. Roxas felt something hard land on top of him – a firm coat. A _girl's _friggin' coat.

Larxene's footsteps were getting closer.

Roxas saw Axel throw some clothes (was that a _bikini _on Axel's head?) on top of himself, effectively camouflaging himself with the mess of the closet. Taking his lead, Roxas threw the coat on, and groped around at rapid speed for more clothes to pile on.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Larxene's sharp voice made Roxas want to cringe, but he remained absolutely still. _Nothing, _Roxas answered quickly in his head. He could practically _feel _his step-sister's forest-green eyes sweeping over the mess of her brand name clothes. He could _hear _her breathing, she was that damn close. _Please, please… just go…_

Larxene, for all the genius and prestige that kept her at Radiant Garden, couldn't have examined thoroughly, because she promptly closed the closet door again. Roxas relaxed his muscles, but did not remove any of the clothes articles just yet. With a crazy bitch like Larxene around, who _knew_ if she'd randomly decide to throw open the doors again?

"See – goodness, I told you it was nothing."

Roxas could practically _hear _the scowl in Larxene's voice when she sneered, "No harm in checking, oh great _wise_ one."

Marluxia snorted in response, and said, "At least you've finally come to recognize that, Larxene."

"You – "

"Now, come along now," Marluxia called out, and his voice sounded as though it was coming more from the door than anything else. "We have to reach Twilight City before the gears start turning, or all of June will have been wasted." _What? _Why _the hell were they planning… _what _were they talking about in June? In Twilight City? Are they… is _

_Larxene secretly in a band? _Roxas dismissed that notion quickly, and he began to shake off the clothes once he heard Larxene and Marluxia's voices leave the room. Larxene being in any sort of band was kind of like… not good. Yeah, that's about as metaphorical as Roxas was getting right about now.

Having wriggled off all of the clothes that had piled on top of him, Roxas saw Axel had already thrown off all the clothes, including (thankfully) the bikini top that had been over his head. Roxas shuddered – he did _not _need to think of his friggin' _step-sister _in that. Bleh.

Stumbling out of the closet, Roxas landed on his bottom, right on the floor. Axel stepped out far more gracefully than Roxas had, and stood above the blond with his hand extended. For once, a wry smirk hadn't wrought its way onto the redhead's face. Instead, an almost… _worried?_ frown was in place.

Grabbing Axel's hand, Roxas pulled himself upwards; when he stumbled a bit, Axel didn't exactly do anything – he looked torn between grabbing Roxas to steady him and giving the blond his space.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel said, kicking the clothes that had scattered everywhere back into the closet. Swinging the closet door in to place, Axel turned around and watched Roxas carefully. Roxas' head was still churning with ideas – why in all of the circles of hell would Larxene be going to Twilight City at the _exact time _she _knew _Roxas was supposed to be there? It had to do with the Clincher, he was sure of it… but… what?

"Yeah?" Roxas asked, forcing himself away from his pondering. Axel rubbed the back of his head with his hand, and said, looking away, "I'm – uh – I'm… I shoulda been more careful before dragging us into that hellhole of a closet."

Raising an eyebrow, Roxas made his way to the door, mostly because he was afraid Larxene would come back rather quickly. He had a good idea that Axel wasn't just referring to the whole _dragging _part, but also… shaking his head, Roxas replied carefully,

"Don't worry about it, 'kay? Let's just get out of here."

And as awkward a moment it may have been merely seconds ago, Roxas still found himself looking over his shoulder to make sure Axel was following him out the door.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Just one more, T! Come on!"

The blond drummer wiped the sweat from his eyes – _damn_, it was hot – as he watched the other blonde in front of him gave him a playful smile. Ohoho, so the girl thought _she _had the upper hand, huh?

Well – he'd just have to change that, heh.

"Aw come on here, I won't bite!" Tidus teased, pulling on his most playful smile. The girl's grin only got wider, and she suddenly brought her arms up, and started bouncing on her toes. Her hair was in crazy plaits, he noticed, and held back with a red bandana. Tidus trained his blue eyes on the last pouch hanging from the girl's belt. One whack – just _one_ – was all he needed to knock that pouch off and win the round.

"Heads up, tough guy!"

Tidus dodged to the side, narrowly missing the wooden stick's swing at his waist. He had two pouches left on his own belt – there were three altogether – and they were heavy with small stones. Since he'd joined the game - this "struggle" or whatever it was called, Tidus knew that to win these rounds, he had to knock off all three pouches with his stick, scattering the rocks on the stone-square arena. Kairi, too, had joined the game, and since they were in preliminaries, she'd managed to pass through to the next round. Tidus and Sora, of course, had kind of frowned at this… it was a co-ed game – plus, there weren't any rules regarding skill level – and they _knew_ if they told her they thought it was unsafe for her to play, she would've beat their heads senseless with her stick.

"Go from behind!" he heard Sora shout. He was standing along the sides somewhere, since he couldn't play in his present condition – Riku, and Tidus, for that matter, would _definitely_ have kicked his ass – Tidus more so because he knew that Riku would kick _his_ ass for letting Sora play.

"Look out!" Kairi shouted.

Tidus shot his head up, and quick-stepped. The young girl – _damn_, she was good, he hated to admit – against pouted, and swung her stick around at Tidus from behind. But he was ready.

He maneuvered to the side, and decided to fake a swing at her head. As he expected, she covered her head in defense – leaving her left side wide open. With a reverse-cut, Tidus slashed at her pouch, and listened to stones clip with the ground.

"Point, Tidus!" a referee called, voice slurred in a heavy accent.

"Ha!" Tidus cried, raising his stick in triumph.

"You meanie! That was a dirty trick!" Tidus flicked his nose.

"Now, now, _sweetheart_, don't be a sore _loser_," and then he added slyly, running a hand through his golden hair, "How about I make it up to you, hmm? Say a date?"

The blonde glared at him furiously, and stamped her foot. "Sicko!" she cried, before stomping off.

"You tell him, Rikku!" he heard a voice cry from the crowds. He couldn't see who said it, but hell, he got a name. _Rikku_. Huh. The same as, well, Riku's name. _Hey – score!_ He could now make fun of Riku for having a girl's name! Haha! Tidus smirked. That guy was just _too_ easy to bug. (Having longer hair than usual wasn't really in his favour, either.)

Over by the side, he could see Sora and Kairi cheering, fists raised in the air. He grinned; he was _so_ totally going to own the rest. _Heh._ The strength of an athlete. He ran towards his awaiting friends.

"Wow, way to be a gentleman, T," Sora said, eyes twinkling, knocking fists with Tidus as crossed over to stand beside him.

"Pffft… nothing to it!" he said. "Little blonde never saw it coming!" Sora laughed, but he could see the wistfulness in his eyes. A large part of Tidus felt bad for the kid, but at least he _was_ standing out here, right?

"Wow, way to inflate his head, Sor," Kairi said, arms crossed.

"Aw… you're just jealous," Tidus retorted playfully. After glancing behind him, he said, pointing behind him, "Looks like you're up, Kai."

Kairi shoved past him playfully, muttering something like "fathead", as she headed out onto the arena. It was her turn now, and she stood waiting for her opponent, stick in hand.

"Where's Riku and Naminé?" Tidus asked, idly, looking around the arena to see who Kairi's opponent would be. A part of him wanted to see Kairi fight again – she was _so_ uncoordinated. He'd seen her in enough sports to know she was a complete klutz.

Sora shrugged. "Dunno. I'd think he'd want to be here, though. He'd enjoy this."

Tidus let out a laugh. "Totally. Ah well – too bad for him, eh? Looks like I'll get all the glory."

"Or Kairi," Sora pointed out.

A pause. After exchanging glances, they both broke out snickering. They were only too lucky that Kairi was out of earshot. She had a really good right hook when she needed it – Riku had taught her well, after all.

"Kneel, loser!"

They both looked to see Kairi facing off against the guy with a black cap. He was wearing a long, white jacket with no shirt underneath, and purple pants. He stood, sneering down at Kairi – he was more than a head taller than her – and a part of Tidus questioned the fairness of it all.

Kairi scowled at him. The guy only smirked, before suddenly bending his knees, stick out, ready.

Oh, crap.

"Kairi! Watch out!" he suddenly heard Sora cry.

The said guy took a heavy swing at her side, and with a squeak, she dodged to the right, and ran around him._ Great._ There was no doubt in Tidus' mind now that Kairi didn't have a clue as to what she was doing.

"Come on, Seifer! Take her down!" someone cried from the crowd. Tidus watched as Kairi squared her jaw.

"I don't think so!" she spat. The guy – Seifer – swung at her, and to their relief, Kairi roughly parried. The clash must have sent a shock up her arm, though, because she was shaking it out afterwards. She had to have some clue as to what was going on, because she quickly faked a dodge to the right, moved to the left instead, and swung with all her might.

But Seifer blocked the move. "Oh, come _on,_" he said, rolling his eyes. "Like I didn't see that one? Not very creative, are you?"

"Oh, shut up!" Kairi retorted. She stood panting, stick poised. Tidus noticed that one pouch was already missing from her belt, but Seifer hadn't lost any.

"This is stupid," Sora demanded, watching Kairi with a worried glance. He was biting his lip, and Tidus could clearly see that Sora was itching to jump in and help her out, but he couldn't – it _was_ against rules, after all. _Dammit_.

They watched as Seifer started towards Kairi. She, on the other hand, kept retreating, toying with the stick in her hand.

Seifer swung the stick over his shoulder, and sent her a mock-kiss. "Come on, babe, be easy. Wouldn't want you to break a nail," he said, sneering.

Kairi huffed, eyes livid, and lifted her stick. Without warning, she ran forwards, in a head-on attack, and slammed into Seifer, knocking off one of his three pouches, stones scattering. And effectively ramming her head into his jaw.

"Ow, _bitch_," he swore, getting back up on his feet. Kairi had already gotten up and was glaring daggers at him, holding her head. They were even now, but Seifer looked pissed. Tidus clenched his fists. _Shit_.

"Kairi!" Sora cried out, desperately trying to get her attention.

She didn't hear him. She was way over on the side of the arena, too far away to hear from either of them. The crowds were pumped, cheering and screaming, and that didn't help either. The two tried waving her over, but her attention was focused on the furious Seifer, trying to dodge his attacks. His swipes were heavy – Tidus was sure he would break her hip if it connected. Tidus could hear the blood pounding in his ears. _Bastard!_

Seifer suddenly slid to her right, and swung his stick. This time, it connected. With a loud "Ow!" from Kairi as she tripped on to the ground, the boys watched as another pouch dropped to the ground, it contents scattering around her.

"Shit – Sora!" Tidus watched as the teen raced onto the arena. The referee started blowing his whistle, but Sora didn't care. His eyes were only on Seifer, as Sora picked up the fallen stick and shouted,

"You _ass_ – could you hit any harder?" Kairi got up and watched with horrified eyes.

"Sor, get _off!_" Tidus cried. What the hell was the kid thinking? _The idiot_ – _he's going to get himself killed!_

"Sora – no, don't! Get _off_ the arena!" she cried, eyes wide. Despite the booing from the crowd, and the whistles being blown, Seifer smirked challengingly.

"Ooh, look. It's our white knight coming in to save the day. How _romantic_," he scoffed, eyeing down Sora. Sora only squared his jaw, and lifted his stick, but Seifer was already waiting for it. "Kneel, loser!"

Knowing what was about to happen, Tidus quickly jumped in, grabbing his stick – it didn't even register in his mind that Riku would give them hell to pay for this.

Seifer swung, with Sora at the ready, but Tidus jumped in with a vertical swing of his own. It threw Seifer off balance, and he stumbled.

"Back off, man!" Tidus warned, his feet planted firmly on the ground.

"Stupid chicken wuss!" _That –!_

Tidus didn't hesitate in charging him. He rammed past the idiot and threw a punch at his face, the stick long discarded. He could hear whistles being blown in every direction, people crying out from the crowd, and it was blowing Tidus' eardrums.

"_Get off the arena!_"

Seifer sat up, and scowled. He threw one glance at the crowd – to whom, Tidus had no idea – and Seifer suddenly cried, "Thrash 'em!"

There was rumble of footsteps on concrete, and Tidus didn't have a chance to blink before a fist was suddenly in his eye.

"Shit! You –!" But Sora was already on the guy. He had tackled him onto the ground, and the said duo engaged in a spontaneous wrestling match, fists struggling to hit the other.

When Tidus fully opened his eyes, he could see that Kairi had grabbed someone from behind, and covered their eyes, twirling around – the said guy trying to throw her off. 

Sora had two people on him – Seifer included. Tidus didn't know where the fourth was, but he ran over and stepped on Seifer's face.

"Ow!" Seifer shot up, and smashed his fist into Tidus' jaw. _The bloody – _but what he was Tidus didn't know, for all of a sudden a pair of hands were wrapped around his shoulder, pulling him away. _What the – ?_

"_Idiot kids! GET OFF!"_

Tidus felt himself being pulled at again, suddenly dragged to the side, and thrown to the ground. He heard others land on the ground too, and Tidus stood up on shaky knees. _Hell_…

"What the hell just happened?" he said aloud, amidst the roaring crowd.

"You're disqualified! All of you! Now get out of here before we call the police!" a voice scolded. Tidus opened his mouth to protest, but Kairi quickly stepped on his foot.

"Hey!" he cried.

"Come _on_," Kairi muttered. She hooked one of her arms under Tidus' – her other arm was already with Sora's – and she started to lead him away from the arena. The crowd had already parted way. Tidus caught the expressions on people's faces – some with scorn, others with pride. He could only grin stupidly at that.

They arrived at a table – some outdoor café, away from the game – and Kairi sat them down. In the light that was available around them, Tidus could see that Sora was holding a wad of tissues to his nose, and his cheek was turning purple. Kairi was sporting a cut lip, and her brow looked swollen – hell, Tidus wouldn't be surprised if Kairi's _nails_ were broken and full of torn skin.

Tidus put a hand to his own head, and his one eye was starting to swell shut. He cracked his jaw, trying to stretch it out.

"Holy crap, wait to go, _guys_," Kairi started, pressing a napkin to her lip. "That was _so_ bad. I can't believe we just did that."

Sora sighed – or, at least, Tidus thought he did. "Wha uh membubble nigh…" Sora said, voice muffled behind the tissues. "Be geh kicked oudda da game. Nah chance binning now, 'uh?"

Tidus laughed. "Hey – we _totally_ whipped their asses. Who says we didn't win?" Kairi frowned, but Sora grinned. Well – tried to. Tidus could only tell he was smiling by the way Sora's cheeks had swelled, for the tissues were now completely blocking his mouth, too. He _hoped_ the swelling was from smiling, anyways.

Tidus suddenly looked around, catching the other's eyes. Kairi knew what he was going to say, for she licked her lips in nervousness. Sora's smile had completely wiped off from his face, and there was foreboding in his eyes.

Tidus leaned back in his plastic chair, resting his hands behind his head. Despite knowing this wouldn't work, no matter what they came up with, he still plowed ahead, and said,

"So… whaddya think'll work on Riku _this_ time?"

* * *

**AN:** Woot! Another chapter finally completed… and not so much of a cliffhanger... Once again, sorry for the length – there was stuff I really needed to cover… - sighs - And aww… finally some "deep" conversation with Riku and Naminé… About time they start opening up to each other, eh? – grins – Theirs was definitely the longest scene in this chapter, me thinks. This chapter was _so_ frustrating… the reason why it took so long is because I kept debating over whose POV would cover each scene. –sigh- At least I finally figured it out, eh? Hope you all enjoyed it! Next chapter will _definitely_ be up sooner though! Stick with me guys! Oh, and review please? XD

XX-diamonds-XX


	9. Repercussions and Reunions

**A/N: **As always, first off, thank you to all my lovely reviewers! You guys are over-flowing with awesomeness – and you're all so thoughtful in your reviews! I _adore_ them.

So… this chapter actually didn't take me very long to write, I just had to finish up a challenge fic first. Sorry for the wait (but look at the bright side, I did it _within_ a month!)… by the way, a reminder is that Whiplash's and LiD's stories have _almost _caught up with each other. **After the opening scene with Whiplash, everything is happening simultaneously for the two bands**, okay? Just letting you know… well, hope you like the chapter!

Btw, I know I've been doing this for a while, but with Whiplash it may get more prominent… there's going to be **more slang used**, you know? The thing is, it's slang from where around I live and stuff, so I don't know if everyone will, like, _understand_ it, you know? **If it gets to be too much, then let me know, okay?** I'll think of something then, otherwise, hope it's cool with you guys.

**Summary: **AU: Riku's band has the chance of a lifetime--they've finally made it to the Nationals. Between a wild road trip to the finals, band bonding and heated rivalry, which band will rise above the rest for a shot at fame? Sokai, Namiku, AkuRoku. Rated for strong language and suggestive themes.

**Disclaimer: **Yes, yes, _every_thing belongs to Square and Disney, okay? Jeez.

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Nine:_ Repercussions and Reunions

* * *

"Can we _please _go check on Roxas?"

"Axel, no – Xiggy knows what he's doing, and we can't just leave the car by the roadside, right?"

"Can't _you _just stay here – "

"Dude! Having two guys in a bush is suspicious as it is, but three, four? C'mon, you know better than that."

"Huh – I otta kick Xiggy's ass; why the _hell _did he have that shit on him?"

Demyx rolled his eyes at his blazing friend. Heh, blazing – that was kinda like flaming. And if Axel wasn't even somewhat flaming, then Demyx would eat his guitar (which was currently resting in his arms as he strummed away absently) with his hair gel for dressing. The fauxhawked-boy just wished the redhead would come out with it, jeez. The moron. Speaking of which, Demyx said,

"Look, man; it wasn't Xiggy's fault – he woulda been tokin' out too, if Roxas hadn't done it first. Hey, we all woulda – so maybe we should be thanking Roxas, for, you know, taking one for the team?" It made sense to Demyx. What was the point in worrying over _everything_, jeez? The redhead always made a mountain out of a molehill. 

This wasn't the first time one of them had gone a bit overboard – although, normally weed didn't make anyone puke… that had to be some seriously bad shit for it to have that as an effect.

Axel huffed and leaned against his black convertible, the spray-painted flames running along the sides, reflecting the eighteen-year-old's mood well. Again, Demyx was reminded of flaming. The redhead brought another cigarette to his lips, having chain-smoked through a crapload of fags already. The guy was _really _worried about Roxas.

Oh, wait – that made sense.

"Demyx?" Axel said, without turning around to look at the blond, who was sitting up on the ledge of the backseat, so that his feet rested on the leather. Demyx looked up mildly, stilling the strings. There was a cool silence in the late evening, where neither said a word.

In the distance, he heard another heaving wretch from behind the bushes. Eww, and a splattering sound… and a rowdy, encouraging laugh from Xiggy ("Atta boy!" Xiggy called out, no doubt slapping a nauseas Roxas on the back). _Dumbass_, Demyx shook his head.

"Hey, Dem?" Axel called again, softly from where he stood as he stared into the dark bush of forest beside the car. Raising his eyebrows at the tinge of fear in his best friend's voice, Demyx casually replied,

"Yeah?"

"You know this wouldn't have happened if Roxas hadn't gone through so much weed, right?"

"Huh? What – no, whoever gave that stuff to Xiggy just didn't do it right – not our – "

Axel sighed dramatically and interrupted, "That's not the _point_, Dem."

"Come again?" Demyx cocked his head to the side, and watched Axel throw him a glance over his shoulder. Then, the redhead looked around quickly before turning back to the blond and saying,

"Look, Roxas is upset," the redhead had dropped his voice a lot, "because, well, you know his step-sister, right?"

"You mean Larxene?" Yeah, Demyx knew the bitch. "The one with _way_ too much attitude and long nails?" Nails that left scratches on pale skin, even if Roxas wouldn't admit it.

"Yeah."

There was a pause. Sighing, Demyx put the guitar down and scooted over so he could hear Axel better. Easing the blond another glance, the redhead opened his mouth – 

there was another wretch in the distance, though no splattering this time – and grimaced as he motioned in Roxas' direction with his head. Leaning in, he said quietly, "We ran into her at the hotel that Roxas spent the night in."

"No _way_! Why the friggin' hell would she have been in _Tortuga_?"

"That's exactly what me and Roxas thought. But – "

"Did she give you and Roxas a hard time?" Demyx cursed again in his head. _Larxene_? What the… why… she wasn't _following _Roxas, was she? No way. Even Larxene wasn't that evil, right?

"No, see, she didn't see us – "

"That's 'cause she's a moron," Demyx cut in.

"_Anyways_, we overheard a conversation she was having with some guy – "

"Probably a new boyfriend. Wait, did he look like a jerk? Someone Roxas should be – "

"_Stop interrupting me_. Dammit, Demyx, I don't know, me and Roxas were in a closet for frig's sake, we couldn't see – "

"A _closet_, eh?" Demyx snickered and leaned back, mindset shifting quickly. Heh, closet… Axel glared heatedly, and hissed,

"Yeah? So? It was the only place to hide, so – "

"You sure about that, Axel? Sure there wasn't anything else?"

"_What _are you talking about, Demyx? Roxas is my friend, and we were hiding from his bitch of a sister because Roxas didn't have the balls to spit something on to her friggin' face so – "

"Whatever, Axel."

"Demyx! What the hell? Tell me what you mean!" Demyx blinked. There wasn't panic in Axel's voice, because it was overlaid with genuine curiosity. Meeting the redhead's emerald eyes, Demyx could have sworn he saw a flicker of _hope? _in his friend's eyes.

Well, it was now or never; moments where the question was _right there _and no one else was around, were rare.

"Axel, come on; you think I'm stupid? Roxas isn't just a friend to you, is he?" Axel said nothing, eyes steeling for the worst. Off in the distance, another splattering – no, a _splashing – _sound was heard, and Axel bit his lip nervously in spite of himself. Shaking his head, Demyx continued with a smug smirk, "_Ha_! I knew it! Dude; you're flaming."

Axel shot the blond a scowl and swung a punch in Demyx's general direction. His fist was met with a thick skull, and some hair gel. Demyx laughed it off though – figures! Ha! Demyx had been right along about Axel, hadn't he? Heh, he wasn't a complete moron, _sweet_. He was gonna hang this one over Axel's head for the rest of –

"You – you don't… care?" Axel had been watching Demyx laugh cheerfully. Demyx slid down so he was sitting properly in the seat. Propping up his feet on the head of the driver's seat, Demyx frowned and thought for a moment. _Did _he care? Maybe… maybe he would have, if this had been a bit more shocking.

Come to think of it, Demyx had been a bit surprised when he'd figured it out… what, three years ago? But now… it was almost like he'd gotten accustomed to the idea without Axel really saying a word. One of the benefits, he supposed, from knowing the guy since they were kids. In fact, if Demyx had made the comment and Axel had claimed to _not _be gay (_or bisexual_, Demyx thought, remembering that discussion at band rehearsal), _that _would probably send Demyx into flabbergastion.

Demyx grinned up at him.

"As long as you don't try and feel me up at night, it's cool, man. You're always gonna be cocky-assed, too-friggin'-charming-for-his-own-good-Axel to me."

Axel, for the first time since they'd pulled over so Roxas could be sick from bad weed, laughed. Demyx raised an eyebrow, but grinned anyways – the redhead sounded _relieved_. Yeesh, had Axel ever thought there was a reason to worry?

"Hey, guys! Look who's back in action, eh?" Xiggy's voice interrupted, rugged as the two came into view. Xiggy had an arm around a very pasty-skinned, blood-shot-eyed Roxas. The blond stumbled a bit, and his eyes were still glazed over. The kid was trembling, no doubt from the combination of a bad trip, and the cold of the evening – wait a second, weren't Roxas' clothes _lighter _before he left? Demyx shook off the thought, though, as he opened the car door.

"Rox? Feeling any better?" Demyx asked, while Axel started up the car. The kid's lips were practically blue, and as Demyx tugged the kid back into the convertible, bringing a chill with him. And the dampness…

"What the _hell_, Xiggy? Why is he soaking wet?" Demyx shrugged off his black, leather trench coat quickly, and wrapped it around Roxas. _Dammit _– the kid's teeth were chattering, and his fingers were like ice.

"Ah, well… after he kinda puked out his guts, he stumbled around… and, uh, there was this little pond… "

"Xiggy!" Demyx almost whined – the _moron_. He would have to –

"Ow!" Xiggy called out from the passenger seat, glaring. "Faggot, what was that for?" Axel, it seemed, had struck the drug-dealer somehow, and hissed, as he shrugged off his own trench coat,

"Can't you friggin' pay _attention_? I'm amazed Roxas didn't drown, with you taking 'care' of him!"

"Hey! At least I fished him out of it!"

Axel rolled his eyes and threw his coat aimlessly into the backseat, still irritable. Demyx sighed, wrapping Axel's coat around Roxas as well. He did this, remembering how when Demyx was a child, he'd fallen out of his window during winter: his grandfather had dug him out of the snow and his grandmother had layered him in blankets and served him endless hot chocolate. Huh – even though it had been his fault, in the first place, for being stupid enough to try and catch a snowflake from his bedroom.

Heaving a groan, Demyx shifted around, propping his feet against the seat in front of him (much to Xiggy's annoyance), and sprawled Roxas across the seat, resting his head in Demyx's lap. Roxas shivered with the movement – _poor kid_ – and Demyx weaved an arm under Roxas', settling it across his chest, and held him tight.

He grimaced – anyone looking was going to think he was completely gay, or something, jeez. But still, he couldn't leave Roxas to fend for his own body heat… with another sigh, Demyx pulled up the hood of Axel's trench coat, covering Roxas' face entirely. The blond mumbled something incoherent, but was too stoned to really take in what was happening.

There. Now, people might just think it was a kid or something. And, Roxas would be doubly warm… and Demyx still had his arm around the kid to hold him in place. Roxas shuddered, and curled up against him – Demyx growled,

"_Stop_ that: I am trying to keep you _warm_, kid. Not _cuddle _with you, jeez." Roxas didn't seem to hear, instead whimpering and nuzzling closer to Demyx's chest. Shit, the kid was icy cold, stealing Demyx heat _and _he smelled like puke. And algae, or something… nuclear toxins, maybe? Whatever was being dumped into ponds these days. _And _he reeked of pot… ugh – whoever gave Xiggy that stupid, shit-ass weed needed to be shot. Repeatedly.

Dammit all, if Demyx could drive, he would have _so _switched spots with Axel. The redhead was flicking his eyes to the rearview mirror in… in _envy_ as it was. Demyx rolled his eyes, and mouthed (feeling like an idiot – Axel was jealous of _Demyx _to steal _Roxas_; the thought was laughable) with a shrug,

_Sorry._

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Okay, so far, so good.

Riku hadn't said anything last night (well, Sora and Tidus had all fallen "asleep", and tucked tightly into bed when Riku came in) – they would be safe for a _while_. Well, that's what Sora was telling himself, anyways. Most of the physical evidence was gone anyways – his nose had stopped bleeding, as had most of their cuts; they had cleaned 

themselves up; Kairi had even dabbed some make-up on all of them (with much fidgeting on their part) to cover up the worst of the bruises before they left for downstairs.

Naminé and Riku were already in the convertible outside, and Kairi was finishing up her hair before the other three headed down. Truth to be told, no one wanted to risk being caught on their own – who knew? Maybe Riku actually had X-ray vision or something, and could see through every lie? Or mind-reading abilities? Or an outstanding knowledge of make-up colour application?

No, wait; that would be really weird.

Speaking of make-up…

"Tidus, I'm _pretty sure _that your black eye is invisible at this point," Sora said, watching Tidus continue to dab powder over his face, particularly his nose. Tidus jumped a little, and quickly put the cosmetics down.

"Oh! Oh, yeah… I, uh… see, there was this little red-bump-thing, and, heh, I just thought you know, I should cover it up, and like… you know… heh…" Tidus rubbed the back of his head, with a very sheepish grin. Catching Sora's smirk, Tidus burst out in a huff, "Hey! Can't guys be pretty too? Look at that guy on _Destiny's Idol_… you know, the host? _He's _a total metero and the ladies love him? Right?!"

"Whatever you say, man. Whatever you say," Sora replied with a wave of his hand, standing up from his chair. "But just so you know… you can tell us anything, you know? And besides… don't chicks dig the whole guy-on-guy thing? You're opening up whole new doors for yourself, man!"

Tidus grinned wryly. "Eh…?" he began, mock-fluttering his eyelashes. "Don't you have a _girlfriend_, Sora?" Sora, in turn, managed a laugh.

"As much as you want me, you'll have to get through Kairi first!" Sora grinned, knowing full well that Kairi was in the bathroom and could hear every word.

"Hey, I'm cool with three-way," Tidus said casually, smirking. Sora let out an audible groan, and smacked his forehead. He should know better than to play, er, '_word association'_ games with Tidus.

Kairi's voice suddenly rang through the bathroom door,

"Hey! Can one of you pass me my Mellow Mocha 24-Hour Lip Sheen?"

Sora grinned and replied, readying a pillow in front of himself,

"Sorry! I think T's borrowing it… and I have to say, it's quite the colour on him!"

The pillow served good purpose – a good three nail polish bottles were chucked in his general direction.

Kairi came out of the bathroom rolling her eyes –_"boys"_ – and headed straight out the door after grabbing her purse. She was waiting, however, for them at the front lobby – Riku and Naminé were waiting in the car, sharing what looked like an enjoyable conversation. Sora grinned – 'bout friggin' time.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Winding streets before him, Roxas weaved his way through rushing people with cell phones attached to their ears; high-class cars and pimped rides; intimidating public transit; and past boutiques and branded stores.

This place was _nothing _like D'Arc – oh sure, Roxas' hometown was a nice place in the suburbs, but downtown? Roxas could still recall the first time Axel had taken Roxas to explore the _real _D'Arc… not something that could easily be forgotten.

Funny how he could recall a memory almost three-years-old, yet that morning had slipped past him completely. And last night, for that matter. After having shaken off the initial "Holy crap! I've been drugged, again! I must have been kidnapped and taken to an awesome hotel suite to be interrogated by high-profile agents working for the president and senate and…" phase, Roxas realized they had arrived in Twilight City, and had taken his first glance.

Apparently, he had been stoned yesterday on some bad shit – Xiggy had apologized for that, with a few prompting glares from Axel. But as to _why _Roxas was wearing different clothes than he remembered changing into yesterday morning, his friends hadn't explained, and Roxas figured he was better off not asking.

He had to admit though: it sucked ass to have missed the initial entry into this incredible city – the media capital of the world. Roxas couldn't have been more ecstatic – there were plenty of just-released special additions DVDs (and the new kick ass Green-ray discs for his Gamestation 4 and GSP) _and _Roxas was sure his father had enough connections to get him into some premiere or another. At least the man was good for something.

Ah – here he was supposed to be.

When checking into their hotel suite, the lady at the desk had informed them that all contestants for the Clincher had some sort of announcement-square-meeting-place-thing to attend to this morning. Axel and Demyx had already left once Roxas had given them the a-okay – there was no way Roxas was gonna jump outta bed right away after a night like _that_. Axel had looked particularly grudging about leaving, but Demyx had eventually dragged him out the door. As for Xiggy? Well… who really knew where Xiggy _ever_ was, anyways?

"Yo! Roxas!" Turning he saw them – Demyx and Axel, standing at the edge of a crowd gathered around a small wooden stage. _Oh man_ – they'd _better _not have to perform on _that_.

Making his way over to his friends, he only just fought his way over when the announcer began,

"Welcome all!" There was a cheery response from the crowd, even at this hour in the morning. Standing on his toes, Roxas could see it was a fat, squat man with dark brown hair and goatee. "Welcome to the seventh annual _Battle of the Bands_!" There was a roaring from the crowd, and the man waited to continue.

"Now, the opening ceremonies will be in two night's time – however, events are going on all over the city for you young musicians to mingle!" Another roar or approval. "By the beach, there will be various sports for you to sign up, as a team – open to all, regardless of skill level! In the fourth district, all the vendors are out and holding a sale… special discount if you show your Registration Card! And in the second district… "

Roxas tuned out of the man's speech, as he continued to list the events. His eyes were more concerned with the crowd – he had caught a familiar face and locks of brunette, but it couldn't be… could it? She lived so far away… but… he hadn't seen her in years. Right?

"Roxas, yo! Isn't that Larxene?" Roxas's attention suddenly snapped to the stage at Demyx's voice. Eyes now distracted from their search, and on the stage, Roxas saw another familiar female.

It _was _Larxene.

Shit.

She was standing on the stage – clad in her Radiant Garden uniform, oddly enough – and was standing next to a young man with light brown mixed with light red hair (what Roxas would've mistaken for _pink_). He frowned – whatever this was, it could _not_ be good. Roxas' eyes remained on the stage for a moment, expecting her to say something – although he was careful to shift behind some people, avoiding her gaze on the crowd.

_Why _was she up onstage? Maybe his father was sponsoring this whole thing, and she was a representative? But… why… hadn't he chosen Roxas to come down? It's not like either Dad or Mya knew that the real reason Roxas was taking a "trip" this summer was because of his band…

Roxas was still lost in his thoughts, when a female voice called from beside him, "_Roxas_!"

Spinning around, Roxas' eyes widened. _Yes_! It had been her – Roxas wasn't going crazy. She had been weaving through the crowd, and her deep brown hair and soft face had still managed to catch his attention. As good as it was to see her, Roxas wasn't prepared for her throwing her arms around his neck in an embrace. He laughed though – she was as affectionate as he remembered, then. Still smiling, Roxas greeted her carefully,

"Olette! I – it's been a while, hasn't it… ?"

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

_Idiot_, Kairi hissed to herself.

Everything would have been absolutely friggin' fine if Tidus didn't sweat like a pig.

_Dammit_, this was _so _not cool! Kairi sat absolutely still, seething. Maybe, if she didn't do anything, Riku would forget she was there. Woohoo! That would mean no protective-wrath for her. It was all the blitzball player's fault, anyways. Tidus had wiped his face with his handkerchief, and _wham-o_, Riku was saying,

"Whoa! Tidus… um, you really _did_ get into Kairi's make-up bag this time, didn't you?" The silver-haired teen was staring at the foundation-smeared handkerchief suspiciously. Kairi wanted to smack her head against the front seat – no, better yet, she wanted to smack _Tidus_. Argh, the idiot. Oh, and here he goes, trying to make everything okay –

"Dude! I – heh, well, it's a funny story, actually… uh… see…" Tidus scratched his head, in complete lack of alibis. At least he was smart enough to carefully look out the window as he was talking, even though much of the make up remained on him. "Well, okay, there was this chick, right? And she totally dug meteros, you know? And – and this girl was hot, Riku! Don't look at me like that – you woulda said the same thing!"

Riku pulled over the car to the side of the road they'd been driving on, and turned to look at Tidus. Riku's sunglasses were still on, completely hiding his eyes, and the boy's face was entirely stoic. Kairi, beginning to panic, butted in,

"Tidus!" she gasped as convincingly as she could. "You broke into my make-up bag to impress a _girl_? You – you horrible, insensitive, conniving, manipulating little monster! I hope you and your libido burn in hell!" There, that sounded about right. Well, maybe she overdid it a _bit_, but… Riku laughed here, and Kairi sighed in relief as subtly as she could. Sora, who had been sitting silently up until now, laughed awkwardly as well.

"Nice man, nice," Riku said, peering at a nervous-Tidus over his shades. Then the silver-haired boy suddenly brought his hand to Tidus' face, and smearing some of the make-up from around Tidus' eye. "Guess Kai will be wanting that back – whoa! Dude, sorry… ?"

Tidus had flinched horribly as Riku pressed against his blackened-eye, and Kairi squeezed her eyes shut. _Just deal with it_, she willed the blond jock. _Be a man, come on_…

"Whoa! Tidus, I think you're having an allergic reaction or something, your skin… it's all… " The original concern in Riku's voice had fled, and now there was an edge to it. "… _swollen_. Tidus, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a _black eye_. You know… something you get from… I dunno, let's say… _fighting_?"

It was amazing how Riku hadn't even wondered if maybe Tidus had been brutally attacked and mugged. Immediately, the concept was that if Tidus had taken a beating, he probably deserved it. And as horrible as that sounded, Kairi couldn't help but grimly agree – so far, the theory had proved correct every damn time.

"Uh, uh… the girl was crazy, Riku! I swear! I just tried to say hello, and she called her brothers – there was like, fifteen of them – and they were like, 'yo don't touch my sista', man' and they were like _BAM-O_ all at once and I – uh, I… " Tidus fumbled off, feeling Riku's glare through the shades. Riku was as stoic as ever; grabbing a few napkins from under his seat, he suddenly turned and passed them to Kairi and Sora.

"Wipe your faces."

"What?!" Kairi gaped, holding the tissues. Riku calmly watched them over his sunglasses, and repeated,

"Wipe your faces. This shouldn't be a problem, right? If nothing's wrong?"

"But – but my make-up will get all ruined! Do you know how _long _I spent on it?" Kairi attempted to protest. Riku shrugged, and turned to Sora,

"Okay, since Kai's being stingy – you do it. Wipe your face, Sora."

"Bu-but…!" Sora stammered, but Riku smothered him with a glare. Hanging his head, Sora relented and ran the tissues over his sweat-glistened face. Kairi gritted her teeth – as much as Sora looked up to Riku, he needed to stop being the obedient-little-brother sometimes.

Sora didn't look up, but he didn't need to – the tissues were covered in smeared off make-up and foundation, all coloured to his skin tone. _Shit_.

"_SORA_!" Riku burst out. "Sora! Did you jump in with Tidus as well? Or did someone hurt you? Sora, answer me!" Kairi flinched at his voice – ohoho, they were in _so _much crap. Swallowing, Sora looked Riku right in the eye, and said uneasily,

"Look, Riku, there wasn't _exactly_ a girl, per sae, really…"

Kairi's eyes bulged, and Tidus had a look of utmost horror on his face. Dammit, this was _not _the time for Sora's sense of… _justice_ to come in! Not _now_! _Why _did the idiot have to be so damn self-righteous? Why the… argh…

"Yeah! See, there was this jerk, and he – " Kairi added, trying a last-ditch save. Tidus cut-in,

"He was trying to hit on Kairi! A total creep! Did you just expect Sora to stand by?!"

Riku angrily cut in, "That's no excuse, guys! Sora was sick, you know that – ".

"Excuse me?" Sora cut in, sounding a bit offended. "Wouldn't _you _have done the same?"

"Especially if it was, oh, I dunno, _Naminé_?" Kairi added slyly, a brilliant idea sparking in her head. _Loser…_ Naminé, who had been sitting quietly, started.

"Wha-wha… I… " the blonde spluttered, face burning red. Kairi grinned – oh, as much as she pitied her at this moment, Kairi's self-preservation kicked in.

"So, Naminé, speaking of which, did you and Riku have fun yesterday?" Kairi teased, punching Naminé lightly in the arm. The blonde didn't speak; only went steadily redder, averting her gaze.

"Yeah, Riku," Tidus jumped in, catching on. "Why'd ya go off all on your own? _Hmm_? Something you two wanna tell us?"

"O-ohoh!" Kairi smirked maliciously. Ooh, this could be fun too. "Whatchya all up to? Huh?" A laugh escaped Sora, even if he was unwilling to directly join in the wicked fun.

"Guys!" Riku burst out, cheeks stung by pink. The lead guitarist revved up the car, distracting himself with the road. Tidus was still grinning cheekily though, and prodded,

"Hey, hey, hey, Naminé! Riku doesn't blush a lot, but _damn_, you should see him now!" the blond turned to Naminé, and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Naminé, even though she looked like someone could fry an egg on her face, burst out laughing.

"No, really, Tidus… " the girl trailed off though, gaze shifting to out the window. Riku was determinedly staring out the front window, while Tidus laughed and Sora was biting back a grin.

Heh, well, at least Riku wouldn't be bringing this up later. He probably wanted to forget the entire conversation as fast as he could. Tidus turned around – he must have been thinking the same thing – and exchanged a quick smirk with Kairi. Boys weren't so stupid then. At least, not _all _the time.

The car had gone quiet. Kairi exchanged a glance with Sora, and they both let out a quiet sigh of relief, as they sank down in their seat. _Phew._

That was a close one.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

_It's Roxas! All the way down here… Roxas!_

Beaming, Olette took Roxas' hand in both of hers. Tilting her head to one side, she said,

"Totally! It's really good to see you again – I'd never have thought to meet you down here!"

Roxas grinned, albeit awkwardly – Olette had loved that smile, and still did. Pity he wasn't fully doing it – then again, it wasn't everyday a high school girlfriend popped up. When he smiled, it wasn't sharp, or sadistic, or even arrogant… there was a genuine charm about it. And right now, after having lost contact with him for so long… ?

After a moment's hesitation, Roxas swung an arm around her shoulders (_It still feels right_, Olette thought wistfully_, it still feels good to have him so close_), turning her to face his companions.

"Guys, you remember Olette, right?" Roxas said cheerfully – carefully. The other blond – Demyx, if Olette could recall well – laughed and reached forwards to give her a hug of his own. He, at least, didn't seemed fazed by familiar faces.

"Dude! Olette, what are you doing down here? In a band?" Demyx pulled back, holding her at arm's length, while Olette laughed and shook her head.

"I came down to the square to hang out… it's the biggest thing in Twilight City… I'd have to be pretty stupid not to, don't you think? Besides, all the sales are going on," Olette grinned, raising her eyebrows at Demyx. It was true – she had come down here expecting something to help her pass the time, and had run into a whole different gem. Green eyes sliding once again to Roxas, she found herself frowning a bit as she looked beyond.

Near Roxas, Olette could make out a certain red-headed young man. She bit her lip – if he didn't want to introduce himself, that was perfectly fine with her. Roxas, however, didn't seem to clue in as he said,

"Aw, c'mon, Axel – you remember her, don't you? Olette? My ex?" Olette winced only mildly at the word _ex_… yes, they had gone out, back when Olette still lived in the City of the Arc. When she'd learned she was moving away, her and Roxas had silently, mutually agreed to break-up. It hadn't been messy; it hadn't been dramatic – it had just _happened_.

"Yeah… hey, Olette," the redhead said dully, not quite meeting her eyes. Olette shifted awkwardly – goodness, finding Roxas meant finding Axel. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Olette replied politely,

"Hello, Axel. It's nice to see you again."

"I guess."

Well… _that _hadn't changed one bit, then. _Why _had she put up with Axel's attitude, in the first place?

Eyes back to Roxas, she took in his glinting blue eyes; his messy, blond hair and his wry grin… Olette shook herself mentally, and smiled again. Roxas sent a mild frown Axel's way – the redhead had wandered off with a mild 'catch-you-later-man' to Roxas, a cigarette pinched between his lips – but he turned his attention back to her quickly.

"So why… ?"

Olette shook her head, smiling to herself. As absent-minded as always… yet it was almost relieving, to know Roxas was almost the same one she'd left behind.

"I live here now, remember?" she said, raising an eyebrow. Roxas flushed a bit ("Right…" he mumbled), but laughed anyways. Before motioning for her to follow him away from the crowd, Roxas asked Demyx,

"Mind if I hang out with Olette for a bit?"

Demyx cocked his head a bit to the side, eyes flipping in the direction that Axel had taken off. A strange expression crossed his face – but it lasted only a moment, because he simply shrugged and smiled softly.

"Sure," he said. "Whatever, man." And with a salute he was off, presumably to wherever Axel had gone. They were alone now – just the two them. Olette and Roxas – _her _Roxas, it used to be. Out of instinct, she reached up and lightly stroked Roxas' hair, patting it downwards. She wondered if he still fought with it everyday, trying to flatten it to no avail. Roxas caught her wrist, and smirked nostalgically – _he shouldn't be allowed to keep doing that_, she thought as she flushed pink – and said,

"So, uh – I was going to offer to take you, you know, around town… "

"… but it's my city, isn't it?" Olette finished, grabbing his hand and weaving her way through the crowd.

"I – uh, Olette... it's good that you're here, but you don't have to – "

Olette giggled – hearing him blunder about for words, hearing that moment of vulnerability always made her laugh. Looking at him over her shoulder, Olette saw his eyes were cast anywhere but on her, and he was rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. _You're so ridiculous sometimes, Roxas_.

"Cut it out, Roxas – I know you'll love having your own tour guide for the city."

Roxas laughed behind her, tension lifting and Olette's heart skipped a beat – _goodness_, why did she ever have to move away?

Before long, they were ambling through the vendors in the fourth district, Roxas looking for souvenirs, Olette kindly pointing out anything worthwhile. Olette couldn't help but laugh the entire time – Roxas was still Roxas, spending far too much of his munny on movies, games, gadgets, and more movies.

Particularly horror and action films – although the occasional, rare independent film made its way into his bags as well. Raising a delicate eyebrow, Olette asked,

"Still want to be an actor?"

Roxas grinned as he handed over his credit card for the latest movie he'd picked up – _Exterminator: Zero – Unrated Special Edition_.

"And make it to Pinewood?" she continued at his silent answer, taking one of his bags to ease the load. Reluctantly, he allowed her to share the weight. Roxas grinned sheepishly at her question, and replied,

"Kinda, yeah. I – I dunno… this band is important to me too, you know?"

Olette smiled vaguely at the answer – yes, the arts were important to Roxas. One of the only things she never had to talk him into doing was writing a poem for English class, or practicing for a music test… Olette smirked a little at the thought of Roxas achieving his dream – making it onto the big screen, his name printed at the top of a DVD case, he was that famous. Or even winning this competition… again, his band photo on a cover of a CD selling nationally…

"You have big dreams, you know that, Roxas?"

"I know."

"I just hope you reach them, that's all."

Roxas nodded, giving her a funny look, then went back to browsing the local_ Cinepodium_ for more videos.

Back when she lived in D'Arc and they'd gone out, Olette had even gone to see some of his play performances. Even if she hadn't been biased towards him, she wouldn't have been able to deny that the guy was good – though he really ought to watch more romance films… _those_ had some acting he could look up to.

Not just the acting, either – a good romantic comedy would've lightened his brooding personality, as well.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Sighing, Naminé leaned back into her seat, and pulled her legs up, curling them underneath her. For once, she was sitting up front with Riku – although she suspected it had more to do with Riku wanting to be rid of Tidus' teasing, then it did of him wanting her around. After the celebrations last night (the initial shock of being asked to dance by _Riku_ still hadn't worn off, goodness – a hue of pink brushed her cheeks everytime her mind lingered); after all the time they'd spent together so far, she _did _hope that something had progressed – the timid silences were beginning to annoy even _her_. As incredible as it sounded to most, Naminé wasn't even _that_ quiet of a person to begin with, honestly.

Not at Radiant Garden, anyways. No – she was Junior Leader of the Visual Arts Department in her student council, she ran the art displays that went on once a month, she helped organize the paintings of backdrops for the annual musical that Radiant Garden took so much pride in… but somehow, she didn't think even Kairi would believe 

that – that Naminé played strong roles in her activities. Then again, the two sisters were apart for so much of the year, sometimes Naminé didn't think her and Kairi would ever, completely understand each other, as much as they wanted to.

"Something wrong?" Riku asked from beside her, quietly. Tidus, Kairi and Sora were currently engaged in 'owning' each other with their Gigabyte DS, so they hardly paid attention ("You filthy sonuvabitch! That Red Shell was a cheap shot!" Kairi hollered, kicking Tidus while Sora chortled). Naminé smiled softly and turned to the silver-haired teen.

The first response that came to her head was, _'nothing'_. But that, she had learned, would serve no purpose, as Riku would most likely pry anyways. So instead, she replied,

"Just… " _Damn_, saying what was really on her mind was harder than it seemed. Biting her lip, Naminé decided on, "… tired." Riku smirked, and replied,

"From the celebrations? Ha, yeah – all that dancing wore out my legs… I don't think I'll be able to stand up on stage during the finals." Naminé laughed (and blushed) – goodness, the dancing _had _been a lot of fun… once they'd caught on, that was. With Riku's attention for beat, and Naminé's eye for details, they'd eventually picked up on the steps and were soon swinging with the rest of the locals in the celebration. It had been awkward as hell, but the locals were exuberant – and persistent, Naminé felt. Smiling to herself, she had to admit – it had been a long time since she'd had that much fun… dances were never her thing. Although, the last one she had attended had been before the school year ended… before… before her Headmaster…

Shaking her head of such thoughts, Naminé tuned back into the reality to realize Tidus had been listening, and was now teasing,

"Ooh… _dancing_… did you two have _fun_? Were you holding each other _close_?" Riku, had he not been driving, looked like he could turn around and punch the blond jock. Instead, however, Riku managed to reply with a smirk,

"Yeah? So what if we were dancing… you still haven't told me what _you _three were up to." Tidus gulped.

"Ah… well… I… yo! Dude! Pull over, I totally need some pepperoni right now! How about pizza, guys? Huh?"

Naminé exchanged a brief glance with Riku – and despite the heat that inflamed her face (_again_), she burst out laughing at the amused expression on Riku's face.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Two shopping bags, three hours, and one thousand munny later, Roxas and Olette found a quaint little sandwich deli to stop in for lunch. The sun's rays were at their highest now, and Olette was glad to find an outdoor table closer to the beach, but with an umbrella perched over it.

Settling Roxas' purchases – and Olette's, which Roxas had insisted he pay for – by their table, Olette slipped down to sit across from Roxas. A waiter was at their table in no time, despite how busy the place seemed to be. Olette saw Roxas give a start – their waiter _was _a Hypello, after all. Not exactly something he'd see back home.

"Hel-lo-lo… what can I get yoo, Mish-te-ter?" the blue, amphibian-like-creature said with his strange accent. He was akin to a hammer-headed shark, only much shorter, with walking legs and, well, bold blue skin all over. The Hypello smiled, and Roxas replied, blinking back his awe,

"Uh… just some… (Roxas checked his menu quickly) 'Shea-Shide-Shubs'… pleash? I mean, 'please'?" Roxas was frowning, wary of his pronunciation. Olette giggled – if there was one thing she enjoyed about Twilight City, was the vast diversity of both race and culture. The fourth district – where Olette and Roxas had just been – was a mainly Hume area, but now… goodness, this was the place to be. When the Hypello turned to her, Olette answered with a smile,

"Make that two, please."

"Of coursh, mish. I shall return with your or-de-ders shoon."

Though he had quickly managed to mask his surprise for politeness, Roxas allowed his eyebrows to rise again as he looked at Olette. A slight smile tugging on his lips, Roxas asked,

"Whoa – what… who… did you _see _that?"

"It was a Hypello, Roxas. Come on, surely you've seen them in a movie or two."

"Well – _yeah_ – but… I didn't think that, you know… they were… _real_ or something… wow…"

Olette shook her head, trying her hardest not to laugh at the blond. Looking up, he asked, "What other races live here? Oh! Do you guys have Bangaas? And Guado? And… oh, are there _Shoopufs_? Can we ride one?" The excitement in his eyes glittered – Olette really did break out laughing.

"Roxas!" she giggled. "You have to let me _answer _a question first! Okay, look, yeah – we've got _tons _of different races around… ever heard of Seeqs? Viera? Ronso?" Just watching his face was enough to make Olette's day. How long it had been… and how much he had changed. Olette knew of Roxas' real status: of his prominent lawyer of father, his landscaper step-mother, and aloof step-sister.

She'd even met them a few times – aside from that, the two had mostly spent their time with Roxas taking her out. What always amazed her the most, was that Roxas always had enough class to steer away from raves and wild parties with her.

No – with her Roxas, it was dinner, it was movies, it was picnics where Roxas nearly always forgot something (how adorable his expression of frustration was)… it was 

_perfect_. And considering they were only fourteen at the time, their friends had all been awed and impressed with the maturity of their relationship. Well – all except Axel, but he didn't seem very friendly in general. Olette merely kept his name out of the conversation; her and Roxas were able to enjoy themselves.

Again, Olette found her heart wanting to burst – _why _had she ever had to move away?

"… I was thinking of maybe going on a Shoopuf ride, sir… I was wondering… " Roxas was saying, and Olette smiled. Just like him, to engage the waiter – who had served their subs, at this point – in talk about the city, gathering information in a courteous, yet assertive manner. And he didn't want to be a lawyer – _honestly_.

Sometimes, when they had gone out, Olette couldn't help but think maybe Roxas exaggerated his problems with his father. _Surely_, his dad wanted the best for his son… and Roxas had the makings of a great lawyer, just like his father.

"… well, shir, I was just talking to the Moogles by the bank, there may be something tomo-ro-row – "

"Oh! All right… I… thank you… " Though Roxas didn't say it, there was a silent, _you're dismissed_, on the end of that sentence. The Hypello nodded, then wandered off back to the kitchens. Roxas (finally) began to eat his sub, washing it down with the water the Hypello had brought with them. Her own forest-green eyes dancing, Olette asked,

"So? Will we be riding Shoopufs over the lake tomorrow?"

Roxas, surprisingly, heaved a sigh. Meeting her eyes with guilty oceanic eyes, he replied, "I… we'll see, okay?" Olette raised an eyebrow, but carefully allowed herself not to react. She didn't want to scare him off, for goodness' sake. An apologetic smile on his face, Roxas continued, "Just… I mean, Axel and them are gonna want to spend time dragging me around town too, you know? And – and we have band practice, you know, for the Finals, and… I… jeez, I dunno. I'm sorry, Olette."

Olette allowed herself to smile, despite the crushing disappointment that had suddenly thrown itself on her. Nothing new, she supposed.

Even back at D'Arc District Secondary School, Olette remembered the same thing to interfere with plans. Always, it was: 'Axel wanted to hang out…', or 'Axel says I've been ditching him a lot lately…', or even worse, 'Axel's getting on my case about hanging out with you, again…"

And always, every _single _time, it ended with '… sorry, Olette. It's not your fault, but he's my best friend, you know?' _No_, she had wanted to say. _Best friends don't try and drive you and your girlfriend apart; best friends don't make sexist comments whenever your girlfriend hangs around; best friends… _ugh, it would go on forever in her head.

Whatever he was, Axel was _not _a 'best friend' to Roxas – the guy was a complete asshole… and Olette wasn't one to drop profanities like that very often.Olette had 

simply stopped saying these things after a while – they always ended in a fight, Roxas being fiercely protective of his 'friend'.

The only consolation that she had was that Roxas was perhaps just as loyal to her, when he fought with Axel.

Roxas had tried though, she supposed. He'd drag Axel aside, give him a 'talking-to', then drag him right back for the mess to start all over again. Goodness, _why _couldn't he see? Guys like Axel never change – they suck you into their pit of abuse, drugs and partying so fast that you'll end up vomiting your heart out before you hit the bottom. _Roxas_, however, was a whole different story – _dammit_, he… if only she'd gotten to him sooner in freshman year, before he'd been 'adopted' by Axel and Demyx. What a world of good she could have done…

… but then, there was no point in wallowing the past. Her blond-haired companion was tugging on her wrist with guitar-worn, cigarette-burned hands, motioning to the beach. Beaming up at him, Olette followed suit.

Maybe this was a second chance.

* * *

**A/N**: Woot! Done that chapter… sorry Olette's point of view was so boring. Well, I kind of liked the whole talking-about-the-past thing, but I mean… there wasn't a lot of action, I know. Hope you found it informative, if nothing else… or maybe intriguing? Same with Demyx… I hope he's okay. I always thought of him as kind of dorky, and could-be-affectionate, so yeah…

Review please?


	10. Step Up Your Game

**A/N: **Thank you to all those who reviewed. Your lovely comments and words of support are more than anything I could ever ask for. You guys are awesomeness all over. :)

I apologize profusely for the lateness of this chapter. I meant to have it up two weeks ago, but then life… got a bit complicated. :S Thanks for sticking with me though, guys! (And a special thanks to **ChibiFrubaGirl**, who's little poke reminded to me post this chapter. xD)

With regards to this chapter, I'd think almost 80 percent of it's _LiD_ – there's only scene for _Whiplash_, and that's because I'm trying to keep the 'timeline' in tact. By the end of the chap, they'll be in sync again.

I do hope this chapter is okay. Happy readings!

**Disclaimer: **Pfft… I _wish_…

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Ten: _Step Up Your Game

* * *

One hand gripping the wheel tightly, Riku growled through gritted teeth,

"_Yes_, we're _almost _there… and if you ask me one more time, you may just find the number of your future children _significantly_ reduced." From the back, Tidus squeaked in response. Rolling his eyes (not that anyone could see, with his shades pulled on), Riku concentrated on the sign ahead. In the dim light of the dying evening, he could just make out what it read:

_Twilight City – 25 km _

Another fifteen minutes to go then…

"Are you _sure_ that we'll be there soon? You said that a thousand years ago!" Sora griped in the back – Riku felt mildly sorry for Sora, though. The kid was in the middle, being smashed up against Tidus on one side, with a snoring Kairi sprawled out over his lap.

"A _millennium_, Sora," Naminé corrected from beside Riku, eyes more out the window. Riku cut off any sort of response from the brown-haired boy though, Riku practically spat,

"Dammit, Sora, if you want to go any friggin' faster, why don't you chuck yourself out? Who knows how much you're dragging us down with your fat-ass flubber." Eyes flicking to the mirror, he saw his friend pout slightly. With attempted discretion though, Sora poked his belly. Scowling slightly now, he responded quietly,

"I am _not _flubbery, mean-ass."

"Yeah, c'mon Rik," Tidus chimed in. "If we need to lose the pounds, why not just toss Kairi overboard? I mean…" Tidus attempted to jab said girl in the head, but Sora's arm protectively shot out over it. Sora snapped irritably,

"No way! I'm not leaving my girlfriend to wake up on the side of a _high_way!"

"Awww, but she could pick up a great career… like that movie, _Beautiful Lady_. Man, I'd pay for a chick like that any – "

A sudden crashing sound was heard, and Tidus yelped, "Ow, _Naminé_! My _knees_!"

_Ha_ – sliding his eyes over, Riku saw Naminé had rapidly dropped her seat on top of Tidus, who was sitting behind her. Her curtain of pale blond hair shimmered in the pink light of the sun, and he could just catch the disapproving frown on her face.

"Tidus, don't even reference that movie. It glamourized the life of a prostitute, not taking into consideration any repercussions from such a walk of life," Naminé chastised. From what he saw when Riku glanced over, Tidus had enough decency to look abashed. Or maybe he was just acting.

"Nice, Naminé," Riku said approvingly, to be met by an appreciative smile from Naminé. It wasn't until his eyes had shifted back to the road and a smirk had settled on his face that Riku realized how just over a week ago, the same interaction between him and Naminé would have been utterly awkward. She would have fumbled up, blushed; he would have smirked consolingly (at least, what Riku _thought _was consolingly) and bit back a grimace.

Riku would have sat here driving, completely uncomfortable with the blonde beside him, shifting around in his seat, counting down the minutes until…

_Twilight City – Population: 2 509 820_

Shit. _Millions_.

Like, six-zeros, bigger-than-one-thousand, freaking bigger-than-one-hundred-thousand… just… _wow_.

How the hell was anyone supposed to find their way around here? Stay safe? Hide away? Get _noticed_?

Riku was pretty sure that two-million, five-hundred-and-nine thousand, eight-hundred-and-twenty thoughts managed to whip over his head as Tidus' convertible sped into the media capital of the world.

Massive skyscrapers lined the pitch-black roads, towering and threatening as they replaced the stars with their artificially lit windows. And even at nine o 'clock in the evening, car upon car upon bike upon pedestrian upon bus upon… _everything…_ were still whirring nearby – so much that Riku had already slowed down the convertible to the slow-moving traffic of the inner city.

His eyes remained more out the window, taking in the blaring music from numerous shops, the honking horns and angry shouts of jaded big-city dwellers. People jay-walked at every possible moment, dragging armloads of shopping bags and their friends with them, laughing as they headed out for a night of fun. And in spite of all of the crushing _vastness _of everything, Riku felt his heart swell to burst.

It would be here.

_Here_, _LiD_ would break into the big; get everything they'd worked day after day to achieve. Riku constantly reminded himself as he studied his surroundings that they had _not _arrived in the Nationals by fluke – they _wanted _this, dammit. Everything Riku had ever hoped for – right here. If he could do this, if _LiD_ could pull this off, then that would be it. A life of music and arts, no more home; no more Dad.

_Just you wait, Dad. You're going to regret everything; just wait._

Bastard. This was Riku's one chance to prove his father wrong.

"Riku?"

The soft voice of Naminé filtered through his angry ramblings, and Riku paused for a moment. The congested traffic took away any worries of complications, so Riku fully turned his attention to Naminé. The blonde smiled gently, and continued, "Are… are you guys ready?"

Riku began to reply, "Well, al – "

"Dude! Of course we are!" Tidus just _had _to _constantly _be spoken to, didn't he? Riku openly rolled his eyes.

Naminé laughed, and turned to partially face the backseat. "So, everything's prepared, then? All I have to do is stand in the crowd and cheer you guys on to an amazing first-place-finish?"

"_Hell_ yeah, that's why I brought you!"

And enter dimwad number two, Riku thought dryly, as Kairi continued, "I mean, we've been preparing like freaking _forever_, holy crap, so – "

"Weren't you supposed to be _sleeping_?" grumbled Riku. His pity for Sora hadn't extended _that _far, jeez. Kairi completely ignored the lead singer though, and would have continued to ramble if Sora hadn't cut in,

"Actually, we're not totally done – Riku, did you get a chance to finish those lyrics?"

Riku scowled slightly. This whole conversation was not going as planned, dammit. Carefully, Riku replied,

"Yeah, yeah… I'm working on it…"

"Riku! The submission deadline is only tomorrow night!" Sora exclaimed, flicking Riku on the back of his head. Shaking his head angrily, Riku replied,

"Hey! Look, okay, its been hard, okay? I just… I'll pull something together, don't worry, okay? I just need to clear my head."

Tidus snickered at this, and chastised, "_Hellz_ yeah, you've been distracted, buddy. Anyone one of us coulda told you that… right, Nami?" Luckily, Naminé hadn't been paying particular attention, so she turned around airily and asked,

"Sorry, what?" Tidus grinned and opened his mouth, before Riku entered with,

"Those children are _dead_, Tidus. Did you hear me? _Dead_."

Tidus went silent; Naminé just kept on looking confused. Riku chortled to himself.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Holy crap.

They made it. They were actually, _finally_, here. And despite the fatigue cornering her eyes, Kairi was more than awake, _had_ been more than awake to take the entire city in. It was glamorous; it was surreal.

The media capital of the friggin' _world_. Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the flashing lights.

"_Man_, I told you, you suck. You didn't get us to our hotel till the next day," Tidus moaned as he dragged both his bags and Naminé's, which he had insisted he carry (meaning he leapt out of the car and raced to the back before Naminé could get a word in)… not without throwing in an 'off-handed' comment to Riku about chivalry and 'learn something or two', or something of the likes.

Riku, in response, had… well, not responded. How typically Riku, Kairi thought wryly, as she watched him send Tidus a begrudging look.

Besides, Tidus was technically right… the clock in the hotel lobby read twelve-thirty a.m., a whole two hours after they'd entered the city. Granted, Sora in the back had talked Riku into taking a drive around the city ("Oh come on!" he had cried. "We finally made it here - let's make the best of it!"), even at this hour in the night, just so that they could take every ounce in. And even now, Sora practically bounded up to the hotel clerk, excitement clearly written on his face. Even the bored servicewoman at the desk smiled a bit at the boy's radiance.

Kairi smiled. That was her Sora, the spiky-brown-haired wonder.

The group gathered around a few of the chairs in the foyer as Riku (who had come in carrying not only his, but what also looked like some of the luggage Tidus had left 

behind) and Sora worked out the details with the hotel. Naminé, instead of lingering around, busied herself studying the wall paintings.

"Oh my _gosh_, guys, I can't believe we're _here_," Kairi suddenly breathed, as her eyes took in the place. She was immediately in love with the hotel, this _Sunset Terrace_ – beautifully named, if Kairi did say so herself. Everywhere she looked, beautiful lamps hung from the wall corridors; lush plants nestled in its corners. Kairi couldn't see the elevators from where she sat, but she could hear the occasional 'ping!' as the doors pulled open. This was definitely beyond awesome. Holding back a squeal, she cried, "So where do we start first, huh? I wanna see _every_thing –"

"– and _buy_ everything, too," Tidus added, as he peered over at her, stretching his arms up, and resting them behind his head. Kairi wrinkled her nose at him, before continuing,

"–And _do_ everything, while we get the chance – I mean, it's _all here!_ It's just so beautiful and gorgeous, and just so amazing, and _ohmygosh_, look at _that!_"

A massive crystal chandelier was hanging in the front hall, the light's rays scattered around the room as they reflected off. She fought off a maddening squeal, the rabid urge to embellish in her delight, but her heels were bouncing, and the light was dazzling off the crystals, and she could just _picture_ the moonlight coming in, and –

"It's so _pretty_!" she suddenly burst, slightly wincing at the squeak in her voice.

"Ah! Stop that! You're hurting my ears!" the blond idiot mock-whined behind her. Kairi immediately clenched her fists, her ecstatic mood vanished in a poof of air.

"Oh, shut up, _los_er. Like you don't squeal when _you_ spot pretty girls with your lecherous eyes." Tidus snorted, and raised a brow towards her, as he gave her the once-over.

"Can't say much for _you_ then."

Her hand flew before she knew it, but Tidus had been expecting it all the same. Oddly though, it wasn't he who had caught her wrist, it was the tall, lean teenager standing beside her.

"Riku! Let go! I'm gonna kick his lousy, stupid, good-for-nothing ass, and when –"

The platinum-haired teen sighed. "Drop it, Kai. Just let him be an ass for now. We don't need to get into a wrestling match in the middle of the foyer."

"Oh-ho, yes we do!" she challenged. Her temper rose when Tidus broke out into laughter, victory sparkling in his eyes.

"You –!" But whatever she was going to say was cut-off as something strange caught her eye.

"Whoa…" She blinked. Could it really…?

No way. Kairi carefully stood on her tiptoes, and tried to peer over Tidus' shoulder. There… she could just…

"Tidus!" she suddenly hissed. The blond turned to look at her, his brow raised.

"Noooo way, not falling for the old, over-the-shoulder-while-I-beat-your-fac – "

It took all her willpower not to throttle the bastard, her fingers curling at her sides.

"No, _stu_pid; just _look – _behind you." Tidus threw a glance over his shoulder.

A wicked grin suddenly split his face, as he turned back around, and Kairi didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

In the next moment, she knew.

"Yo, its that _girl_! The one with the manly name!" He laughed, and when his grin turned sly, her eye twitched. He added, "But _damn_, she's looking _fine_." He bit his lower lip then, and his blue eyes sparkled.

Oh no.

Maybe she should warn them? Let them know that a… a…vicious _philanderer_ was headed their way, and they should arm themselves? Even a pencil would do the trick, really.

"Mmm… and it looks like she brought friends… sweet. Triple the trouble," Tidus said, his gaze fixated on the little group Kairi had spotted only moments ago.

True enough, there were three girls standing at the counter way over on the other end.

_Oh. My. Goodness._

What a bunch of _skanky_, _skimpy_, _no-self-respecting…_

There was one, sleepy-looking, soft-faced girl with brown hair cropped close to her head. Another was an apathetic-looking blonde 'goth' (_oxy_moron, _bitches_, Kairi thought, rolling her eyes) girl, and finally, the other blonde with the numerous braids.

But it was what they were _wearing _that shocked Kairi. The brunette was wearing a close cut miniskirt in a velvety, mauve material. On top of _that_ atrocity was a white "dress-shirt"; tied up in a Britney Daggers-esque style – leaving little to the imagination. The _'goth'_ was wearing tight black leather shorts, riding far enough up her ass to be freaking _underwear_. She was wearing cotton, steel-grey poncho overtop that fell off her shoulders and left her naval exposed – and from the looks of it, nothing underneath.

And _eww_, the _last one… _Rikku was her name, the one who'd caught her eye, and Kairi remembered from the Struggle match; she was the worst. Granted, she was the only one wearing a fully covering shirt – but the complete lack of pants sort of negated that decency. Her long pink spaghetti strap acted more as a dress, only just riding down her freaking _hips_; any pants or shorts of even skimpy _miniskirts _were skipped, and was wearing see-through _pink_ pantyhose (_ha_, Kairi thought to her self, _panty_hoes) that came midway up her thighs. All of this, with big, bright, _sk8ter-gurl-sneakers_. What. The. Eff.

Kairi moved her eyes back to the band drummer standing beside her, and, sure enough, he was eyeing the group of looks with his trademark predatory smirk.

_Great._ "Tidus…" she warned. "Leave them _alone_. They didn't do anything to you."

"Ah… but that doesn't mean I can't do… ah, anything to them," he said lightly, avoiding her hard stare.

"But –!"

"Oh come on, I won't scare them away" – a piercing glare – "_really!_" he emphasized. He began to make his way towards the group. "Just watch how it's – hey!"

Kairi looked up to see that Riku had grabbed Tidus' hood from his sweater as he walked by, and was now dragging the blond along with him.

"Come on, let's go. We got our room," he said, not looking back.

"But _dude_! I was just –"

"Whatever, save it for tomorrow, we got a bit of work to do."

"Work!? What –?"

A grin split across Kairi's face as they piled into the elevator. Turning around to face the foyer, she caught the small group of girls looking at them curiously, and Kairi exchanged a grin with Tidus.

Well, tried to anyways. When she looked over, she saw that their drummer was peering back at the group, his smirk gone.

Kairi blinked. Wha –?

She tried to look back, see what it was that Tidus was staring at, but whatever had happened, she didn't know; it was just then the elevator doors closed shut.

Huh. _Okay, then._

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"How about 'bought'?"

A groan, before,

"Tidus, that doesn't work – it still has to follow the water-coastline theme."

"Huh. Then how about…"

"'Not'? Or maybe even 'naught'?"

"Or 'caught'!"

"Yeah, I like that one… kinda like fish-net caught, right? Sorry, Sor, looks like I'm going with Kairi on this one."

There was a slight slump in the chestnut-haired teen's shoulder, but it was quickly recovered. "So what line, then?"

"The net I've caught," the lead guitarist answered immediately. His aqua eyes lit up as he considered the line, tapping each finger to his thumb as he counted out the syllables. "_Yeah_, that totally works." They all listened to the gentle scratching of pencil on paper.

"Hey, anyone want the rest of this… uh… whatever it is?" Tidus prompted, as he held up a plate. He was lying on the ground, in a small fortress of uneaten and half-touched food, plus several scrunched up napkins.

_Goodness,_ Naminé thought warily, as she eyed the plate. They had all ordered an extremely late dinner via room service (apparently they were still up…), and since then, Tidus hadn't let go of the phone. For the first hour, to the point of almost abusing room service, he had called them up _four _times, delivering all sorts of non-sense food that he'd never heard in his life, just to "try new delicacies" as he put it.

The blond was still holding out the plate; a mess of spaghetti and dark brown and green _things_, with leaves littering the edges. There was a collective rolling-of-eyes (and a wrinkle of the nose from Kairi), before they all shook their heads 'no'.

"Hey – wait! I want some!"

Well, except for Sora.

Sora, like Tidus, was sprawled out, but over a single armchair. Without hesitation, he grabbed the plate from Tidus, shoved half the food in his mouth, before returning it back to the blond. Both Riku and Kairi groaned in disgust ("How do you two _eat_ so much?" Kairi said, her nose wrinkling as she watched as both boys started a mini chugging contest with the leftover drinks); Naminé couldn't help but smile a little at the trivality of it all.

Naminé sat on a sofa of their little suite, watching – or rather listening – as a song was composed before her ears. It'd been two hours since they arrived, and the whole reason they'd all decided to stay up was so that the band could work to finish one of the last few sets of music. Riku had insisted that they all go to bed – after all, composing the lyrics was his job – but that was met with a plethora of objections. Even Naminé had inclined to stay up – hell, it would've been _way_ awkward on her part if she hadn't. It was the least she could do, after all.

She was sitting on the edge of the sofa, which currently sat in open space, and thus making up their "living room". The room was, in fact, an entire _suite,_ with two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette, and bathroom; each room placed in a corner. That left the open space that the band was currently occupying; the door in plain sight of them, and the door to the balcony directly behind them.

It was a beautiful suite, and Naminé couldn't help but notice with her artistic eye the patterns that inlayed the walls. The entire hotel room was bathed in mauves, periwinkles, and beige; light flowers were strung along the crevices adjoining the walls and the ceiling. Everything felt… soft and warm, and a part of her wondered if she'd feel the same way if the band wasn't with her.

Naminé curled her feet underneath her. Kairi was sitting on the other end of the couch, and Riku was on the floor, leaning back against it. The floor was a mess of scrapped lyrics and rejected ideas (as well as uneaten food); a small stereo was set up on the floor, so they could hear their pre-recorded instrumentals.

Naminé was impressed, to say the least. Kairi and Tidus did a magnificent job with the mixing – she had no idea Kairi _could_ do that, and apparently Tidus had some equipment set up at home.

"Where'd you get that from?" Naminé had asked Tidus, when they were setting up on the floor.

"Oh, it's my brother's," Tidus explained, "He's older than me, by a couple of years, and he doesn't live at home anymore. He's a friggin' computer nerd – he loves working with technology, and he can play the piano really well, so he just brought the two together. Music software, ya know?"

"Oh, so where's he now?"

Tidus shrugged, his blond bangs shaking with the movement. "He's living with his girlfriend – I think they're in Zanarkand now."

Naminé nodded thoughtfully. An older brother… and he didn't live at home; they were apart. So that meant they didn't see each other very often either. A wave of empathy washed over her; she could feel the grounds of their small friendship growing a little bit firmer.

"Shit, no, that doesn't work." Naminé glanced up in time to see her sister abashed.

"But it rhymes!"

"Kai… it just… doesn't flow."

Naminé, having been abruptly tugged back to the present, saw Riku rub his head in exasperation, messing up his already disheveled hair.

"What's wrong?" she asked timidly. She didn't feel it was her place to step into their brainstorming session, but the wrought tension hanging in the air was more than apparent.

The blond drummer rubbed his eyes. "Man, we were, like, almost _done_, jeez." Kairi, who was now leaning against Sora, nodded her head.

"Riku was right… this song _is _hard. It…"

Naminé bit her lip, and shifted her gaze over. Sora was looking at the sheets of paper, whereas Riku, as she noted with softened eyes, was holding his head in his hands.

"Isn't there anything else you can do? Any other song?" Riku laughed humourlessly.

"Right – and when we are supposed to put _that_ together?" He sighed. "Dammit, we only need to submit one more song… I thought this would be the one."

"It has to be the one!" Sora suddenly cried. "We've already spent like two and half hours together, and we've gotten pretty far with it – c'mon guys, we can do it! We'll finish it…"

Naminé admired his enthusiasm, but she saw that it barely had an effect on the rest of the group. She saw Kairi give his a hand a squeeze; but Riku and Tidus remained as they were.

The sun had long set; Naminé could see the waning light of the crescent moon reflected off their living room floor. The night sky was cloudy, dulling the usual lustrous shine of the stars. They'd left the door to the balcony slightly ajar, allowing small, but cool breezes to whisper through.

"So… what now?" Kairi asked, shifting slightly, as she looked over to their lead guitarist.

Riku pulled his head up, though it was still resting against his palms; they could at least see his eyes through the curtain of silver that hung across them.

He looked over, then, his gaze taking them all in, before finally letting a sigh escape past his lips. Naminé could feel her breath catch, and automatically her eyes softened… there must be _something_ she could do…

"Let's… let's just call it a night, huh guys? My brain's exhausted," he finally replied, as his gaze returned to the floor. Kairi reached out then, while still holding Sora's hand, and braced her head against Riku's shoulder.

"Aw… don't feel bad, 'kay? It's okay to be tired – we all are." She pulled away, and smiled, still watching the silver-haired teenager. He nodded, a slight curve in his lips, but Naminé could see that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. His eyes were darkened, almost brimmed red with fatigue, but his irises still shone with alertness.

"Riku… come on, let's get some sleep," Sora said, as he began to stand up. There was a slight pause, before –

"Yeah, all right, but I'll come in a few. I'm just gonna try and add some more or something…" There was a quick exchange of glances, even with Naminé. He was determined, she noted with slight wonder. He wanted to see this through.

Tidus apparently noticed this too. He eyed Riku warily, and huffed,

"Come on, man, _bedtime_."

"But –" He wasn't given the chance to argue; both Sora and Tidus grasped an arm on either side of him, and hauled him up. The blond drummer roughly pushed him towards the bedrooms; Riku scowled, but obeyed, if not grudgingly. Naminé figured the only reason he wasn't putting up much a fight was because he was too tired. It was a leverage for the boys, and she was sure that Riku wouldn't forgive them for being bullied. She watched them turn a small corner, before disappearing into their room.

It wasn't until Naminé noticed that Kairi was still standing in the middle of the room, watching her, when she realized that she herself still hadn't gotten up from the sofa.

"Naminé?" She blinked, and her azure eyes meeting her sister's. Kairi leaned over, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Kairi eyed her carefully for a small moment, before shrugging and heading into their own room.

Naminé sighed, and glanced at the floor. It was still a mess, and there was no point in cleaning it up since they'd need all the rough work. She stood up, stretching out her legs, casting a single glance over her shoulder to the darkened sky. _If only…_ but what, she didn't know, and as unanswered questions coursed through her mind, she made her way to her room.

It wasn't until she passed it that she noticed it; the boys' room door was left ajar, but that wasn't what had caught her eye. It was the lithe form of a teenager leaning against the wall by a window that she noticed, and by the moonlight mirroring off his hair, she knew who it was.

Her eyes softened when she saw that he had his hands loosely shoved into the pockets of his sleeper pants, his gaze lost in the night sky, called by the moon, and shadowed by the grey clouds simmering by.

Naminé bit her lip, and rubbed her arm awkwardly; after a moment, sparing one last glance, she quietly made her way past the door, leaving only a breath in her wake.

He felt bad, that much Naminé was sure of, after taking in the quiet of his eyes as she had studied him in the solemn silence of the room. The deadline was midnight, tomorrow – they could still make it. And Naminé would be there for them, for her new-found friends, helping to see through it all.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The wind was spinning by lightly, tousling Axel's flaming hair. _Damn_, it was a good day out today – the sun was shining despite the crisp morning air, the skies were blue… man, it was like some goddamn cliché. Freaking awesome. Hands buried in the confines of his leather trench coat, Axel tried to keep his eyes focused up ahead.

There was no _way _he was turning to look at _him_, again… it would no doubt ruin his mood. Well, Axel _assumed _it would, anyways – he hadn't actually really spoke to the blond at all since he'd come back from his date with the Olette-bitch (and she thought _he _was a bad influence on Roxas, honestly…), the jerk. Roxas had left Whiplash for a whole five hours and thirty-six minutes… not that Axel was counting, or anything.

Then again, it _was _Axel who had declared he was going to bed early, with all the drama and finesse fit for a friggin' girl. Not that there was anything _wrong _with drama, or finesse, for that matter… but hey, Axel was still totally a manly-man. Ignoring the whole Roxas-obsession, of course.

"Sh-shit!" Roxas spat from beside, and Axel had just managed to turn around and grab the blond from tripping face-first into the dew-stained grass. Rolling his eyes, Axel willed himself to look away, before the jerk could mesmerize Axel with his fiercely glinting, ocean-blue eyes that just met him _head _on and…

"Uh… Axel?"

_Damn_.

_Just don't look him in the eye, just don't look, just – _

"Yo, Axel?!"

Axel felt the blond grab his shoulder from behind, spinning him around slightly. Axel attempted his best to glare (right past Roxas' head, though, because the expression on his face was absolutely _adorable _right now…) "Are… you like… you pissed, or something?" Roxas was struggling for the words of concern; that much was obvious. The blond dropped his gaze, staring at his sneakers instead. Wearing his typical dark sweatshirt with the hood flipped up, Axel could only just make out his friend's blue eyes from underneath the fluttering blond bangs.

But _dammit_, he'd seen enough. Letting out a sigh, Axel said carefully,

"_Dude_, why the _hell _would I be mad?" Willing a smirk to his face, Axel hunched over a bit, so that he could peer up into Roxas' face. Peer rather _closely_, as in, their noses were only a few inches apart, they could hear the other one breathing like a heartbeat… 

Roxas started, backing away quickly, though he managed to compose himself quickly enough to ask,

"We-well, yo-you… you were just acting kinda weird when, like, I came home-hotel! Came back to the hotel. Yeah – pretty, like, just… I dunno. Just wondering… you know?"

Holy _shit_ – the kid was capable of seeing past his movie screens and theatrical stages. This, in spite of everything else, really _did _make Axel grin. Straightening, Axel replied,

"Naw, man – I had said I was tired, remember? Jeez, what do you think I am, some kinda girl?" Axel bit back a laugh at the wide-eyed expression on Roxas' face. The blond opened his mouth to speak, but Axel cut him off by turning around and waving his hand vaguely for Roxas to follow. "Look, man, if I was mad at you, I'd tell you. Straight up and front – I don't play games, buddy."

Even though he wasn't facing his friend, Axel could guess that the blond was wearing the most incredulous expression. Roxas said nothing, however, and continued to walk behind him in silence. Eventually, light conversation found its way between the boys, and Axel somehow managed to force the twisting-knot-that-could-come-puking-up-any-minute down his throat and ask,

"Soooo… I was thinking we could hang out today, you know? Check out some sights and stuff… " _Relax, dumbass, _Axel hissed internally, willing the cocky aura to wrap around him. _Dammit_, usually it was so easy… he'd just chat it up with Roxas, throw in a couple hot lines here and there, and things were good. But now, it was like…

"… great. But I think – Axel, yo, are you even _listening _to me?" Roxas stopped walking – somehow the boy had gotten ahead of Axel, and had turned around to watch him. "Axel?"

"Eh?" Axel responded, shaking his head slightly. The force of it definitely brought him back to the conversation at hand, instead of the ridiculous anxiety that had briefly plagued him. Roxas rolled his eyes, then grabbed Axel's arm and began dragging him.

"I was _saying_," Roxas huffed, not even waiting for another word from the redhead, "that _sure_, the four of us can hang out or whatever today. Well, that is, if Xiggy's even _there_… yeah, but anyways, I was _saying _(Axel almost rolled his eyes) that we'd better hurry up and get to the square, 'cause there are some new announcements and – _shit_! Axel! _Shit_!"

Axel looked up sharply to see what exactly was worthy of such high praise. Eyes swiftly moving, he realized that Roxas had dragged the two of them to the city square. And looking up on the platform, standing right by the podium, in front of the microphone…

… _holy mother-friggin' shit_. The woman couldn't just _leave_, could she?

The said young woman flipped her blond hair back, and brushed off invisible dust from her sharp dress-shirt. Leaning back into the microphone, Larxene said to the crowd (Axel noticed Roxas duck farther into his hood),

"… and I _must _say, this is truly a charming experience – in our school's honour, I wish all the best to all our competitors, and I'm sure all of you could make _Hollow Bastion Records _proud. You've come far – don't stop now. It will take hard work, diligence, and a keen ear for music to impress our panel of judges. Speaking of such, I would like to introduce you all to…"

Axel groaned – the girl was just shoveling out the dry bullshit. Roxas' step-sister drabbled on, introducing each of the judges personally: their name, their company, their expertise… _ugh_. What Axel wanted to know was _why_ – why the _hell _was she here? He'd seen her yesterday… but this was worse, actually having to hear her spit out shit. And in her school uniform, at that? _Dammit_! Axel was never gonna be able to have any school-girl fantasies now, seeing Larxene's stupid bitch-face with one.

It was a pity that Axel was too busy glaring and hating the blonde to notice her condescending eyes sweeping the crowd – locking right on Axel's shock of red hair. Axel almost flinched.

"… I think a round of applause is in order, for all of these highly-qualified people for coming down with us today." The crowd seemed to agree, whooping. Axel was willing to bet it was more pent up energy, than actually _excitement_. She continued to drone on, before introducing the next speaker, some fellow student or something…

"_Axel_," Roxas hissed, tugging at his friend's arm. Axel turned quickly, fighting the urge to place his hand comfortingly over Roxas'. When Roxas saw Axel raise an eyebrow, he added softly, "Let's get outta here, huh?" Roxas glanced over at the stage, and Axel followed his gaze briefly – someone else was up there speaking now, but the important thing was that Larxene wasn't even _on_ _stage _anymore.

Sympathetic to the note of urgency in Roxas' voice, Axel allowed himself, once again, to be dragged away.

This wasn't going well at _all_. This whole trip, this whole chance to be _away _from D'Arc… and now _this_? Axel cast a sidelong glance to his blond friend, now that the two were walking more easily since they were out of sight of the stage. Axel frowned – _dammit_, what was he supposed to say now? What was he supposed do to put the kid at total ease… _stupid, bitchy, ugh… _Larxene was definitely something he could do without.

And just while Axel was still roaming his mind for some sort of instigation, words of comfort, Roxas stopped and turned to the redhead.

"Hey, Axel?"

Axel blinked, having not expected it. Raising an eyebrow after a quick recovery though, Axel replied, "Yeah?"

"I… look, I just… back there, with, you know, _her_… I think…"

"Well, isn't _this _a surprise."

Whipping his head around, Axel glared heatedly. He _knew _that voice, dammit. It had to be –

"_What_ do you _want_, Larxene?" he heard Roxas sneer, though the tiniest quiver could be heard. Subconsciously, Axel moved to stand closer to the blond (though Axel was feeling the mad urge to put himself in _front_ of his friend – though he highly doubted Roxas would appreciate that). His fist clenching tightly at his side, Axel breathed in. He wouldn't say anything, not yet. This could just pass and go and just be _gone_, if they let it.

Larxene's brilliant green eyes narrowed under pencil-thin eyebrows; she continued, with a manicured finger to her lips, ignoring the boys' reactions, "I have a proposal of interest for you." Axel didn't like the way she did that, fluffed up her dry bullshit and wore that grim, smug expression. And all the while, trying to act completely innocent, completely flawless, completely… ugh; _damn_, how Axel hated her.

"What the hell do you have that I could _possibly _give a damn about?" Roxas snapped back, though he shuffled a few steps backwards all the same. Axel fought the insane urge to reach over and drape an arm over Roxas' shoulders; he doubted that that would make a good impression on Roxas' step-sister.

Not that there was much to ruin, to begin with.

The young woman took a step closer to them, and after placing her hands on her hips, she looked ready to sneer down at them again. Axel's mind was still racing – _why? _What would _Larxene _and her high-class, socialite demeanor want from a _band _competition?

Larxene briefly glanced over her shoulder, though as to _what_, Axel wasn't sure. Narrowing his eyes, he demanded, "Look, if you've got something to say, then say it _now_. You're wasting our time, got it?" Axel kept the glare steady on his face, even when it was matched by an equally sparked one from Larxene.

Tossing blonde tresses over her shoulder, Larxene bit down on her delicately painted lip, making quite the show of hesitation. Resting one hand on her hip, Larxene casually swept a glance around her, seemingly having lost interest. _Dammit_, if the woman took up _one more friggin' second _of his time, Axel was gonna… finally, Larxene replied, "_Well_, if you must know…"

She frowned, eye sparkling and for a moment, she looked… _unsure_. Axel felt a moment of triumph – he'd have turned around to see what Roxas' expression was, if it wouldn't have ruined the moment.

Larxene recovered quickly, however, and continued, "… come back stage with me. I'll explain everything there, hmm?" Without waiting for a response – or rather, already 

knowing the response – the girl turned and walked away from them, back towards the stage._ Yeah, right, like… _a brushing against his arm made Axel look up, and he saw Roxas following his older-step-sister, hood up and hands in his sweater's pockets.

Axel saw the slight bow to Roxas' head, the way the blond kept his eyes more to the ground than to what was going on around him… Axel cursed as he picked up his pace to follow as well.

This had better be good.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Touched by the sun, the sky was a vivid blue.

Naminé stood outside, awaiting for her companions, as she took in the morning air. It was warm, and she could sense the awakening humidity that would rise and fill the air. She'd decided on a light skirt, shades of red and pink shimmering through the fabric, with a white blouse completing her apparel. She had a feeling, though, that she might not last long in it.

They were running a little late, as they had all expected to be, and Naminé was a little relieved to see her friends looking okay, after a short night's sleep. In their morning haste, it had not helped matters when Tidus had (again) dawdled over the phone. It was fortunate that a peeved-Riku was able to stop the orders in time, and directed everyone to eat in the café on the ground floor instead (which then, of course, led to Tidus redirecting his charm towards the unsuspecting waitresses).

Speaking of which…

"Morning sunshine," a voice cooed, as Naminé felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. "Thinking about me?"

"Probably, and how to castrate you, at that."

Naminé shifted her glance over, and saw her redheaded sister cross her arms as she walked up beside them.

"No _way_," Tidus put in, and then rested his head against her shoulder. "Naminé loves me too much for _that_, right _darling_?"

Naminé could only smile, and Tidus winked, after sticking his tongue out at the fiery redhead. Said redhead only huffed in return, emphatically rolling her eyes. Another cry followed soon after,

"Hey guysh, we gosht'em!"

They all turned to see Sora running towards them, waving some pamphlets and papers in his hand. Riku, as he was walking, was still behind, and only shook his head at the teen's energy.

"Come again?" Kairi asked, eyes squinted in perplexion. Tidus had quirked a brow, and even Naminé was confused – what did Sora say?

"I said, 'Heysh guys, we'sh got… er… hey guys… guysh…" Sora trailed off into a mumble, and proceeded to scratch his head. "Uh, I can't remember how I said it – damn."

Kairi's eyes only squinted further, placing a hand on her hip, and she threw back a glance at Naminé and Tidus. "Remember what? How to talk in gibberish?"

"I wasn't talking gibberish! It was Hyperpello-talk!"

"Hypello, you mean," Riku corrected, now that he'd caught up with the rest of the group standing between Sora and Tidus. Naminé caught the quizzical look he sent Tidus' way, when he saw that he had his arm still draped over her shoulder. Tidus only waggled his eyebrows in response.

Naminé blushed. Count on Tidus to make an awkward situation even worse. Timidly, she shifted so Tidus had to drop his arm (well, she almost turned completely; his arm was putting up that much of a fight).

"Yeah, whatever! Hypello – it's _so_ cool! It's like a whole 'nother language, or something, it's –"

A sigh, before Riku cut in, "An _accent_. Nothing else, Sor." Riku turned to face the rest of the group. "Dumbass here wouldn't stop talking Hypello! Keeps adding a 'sh' in like every word!"

"Dosh – uh, _do_ not!" Sora cried defensively.

"_Ha._."

"Nuh –" But Kairi had quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him with a glare. Riku's irritation was not lost on Naminé – there was a lot more on his mind, she knew.

"When did you talk to a Hypello, Sora?" Naminé suddenly turned to ask, and Kairi slowly pulled her hand away. She watched as Sora's eyes brightened with the morning sun, and replied,

"When I was getting directions; see, he was like, 'Gosh shouth, pasht ta-the garden shop, and then turn shleft.' Noshing to it! Uh, I mean, nothing to it!" Sora held out the piece of paper on which a roughly sketched out a map of the area was drawn. Warily, Kairi took it from his hand, and studied it with a curious Tidus peeking over her shoulder. Naminé, too, leaned over, blinking at what she saw.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Kairi asked, her eyes never leaving the paper. Huh – Naminé had expected a map, but not one as drawn as poorly as this one. There were several intersecting lines, and arrows drawn all over the page – for what reason, it was 

beyond Naminé. She could only guess that they were headed towards the big 'X' circled off to the left side of the page.

"Downtown!" Sora exclaimed. "All the opening ceremonies stuff is going on there –"

" –And it's already started." Riku pointed out. He turned around, and threw over his shoulder, "We _really_ should get going. We need to register, and apparently there's a speech going on, too." With that, he began walking down the sidewalk.

"_What_?" Tidus whined, and stretched his arms behind his head, as he followed their lead guitarist. The rest of the group, too, began to follow, immersing themselves in the diffused crowd of pedestrians. "I think we'll be okay if we miss an introductory _speech_… pfft."

Kairi flicked him in the back of his head. "Well, what if it's something important, huh?" she asked.

Tidus snorted. "Nothing we can't hear from someone else –"

"You know, because we've befriended _so_ many people in this city already," Kairi huffed. "Don't be a dick. This isn't a classroom where we can just borrow notes off each other, you know. We're in a competition."

"Yeah, but not everyone can be _that_ cruel," Sora suddenly pointed out. "I mean, we'll all have a fair advantage to win this, right? Why wouldn't anyone share info?"

Naminé didn't miss the slight frown carved onto his best friend's lips, as she watched him and Kairi exchange quick glances. Naminé understood in a heartbeat.

"Whatever," Kairi said, and then moved to intertwine her fingers with Sora's. "Let's just get going."

The group weaved their way down the street, Kairi and Tidus bickering about nonsense, and Sora constantly pointing out things he'd seen in a brochure. As they passed the lined shops, Naminé couldn't help her eyes from wandering all around her. Bright, neon signs, even in daylight, cast their nets, catching several patronage from all over streets, no matter the distance. There were even students milling about, complete in their blue-and-grey uniforms. How odd. _Isn't school over?_ she thought vaguely. Or perhaps it was different here?

Well, the differences didn't stop there, as Naminé couldn't help but notice all the different races apparent through-out the streets. Sure, her Academy was home to a few of them, but they weren't very common around the area. However, here, the place seemed to bloom with every colour, size, and _form_ of races, and Naminé's chest swelled with the very fact that she was even _here_.

Naminé had to smile – at least she found some new subjects for her portraits.

"I think we were supposed to take a left one street ago…" Kairi suddenly pointed out. They all looked up and around. It was a moment before Riku's voice spoke up.

"We're pretty close, though, right? I mean, damn, there sure are a lot of people here." True enough, the crowds had grown denser. Stores and shops clustered the streetwalks, and traffic was slower due to the heavy flow of pedestrians – many with cellphones clipped to their ear, and several shopping bags in one hand. It amazed Naminé at the way people barely glanced at the traffic as they carelessly crossed the street; most of them so caught up with idle chatter amongst their friends, phones or not.

High-rise buildings towered over them, and one in particular carried the banner: _Welcome to… BATTLE OF THE BANDS – CLINCHER - Step up your game. _Hm, yeah – they were close all right.

"Come on! This way!" Naminé looked over to see that Sora had back-tracked, and was waving them over. A blue-green creature-like person stood next to him, nodding its head briefly, before going back to tending the little garden of his shop. A Hypello.

"The garden shop," Tidus voiced, and Riku nodded. Wow – it wasn't a surprise they had missed it. It was a small shop, enveloped in several flowers and bushes, that the entrance was barely visible. The store sign read 'Garden Gates'.

"Yesh, yesh, jusht go shroo here, mishter-er, and yoush should shee it," said the small Hypello, as Naminé strained to hear the conversation. When it turned around to look at the approaching group, Naminé smiled.

"Hello, nice to meet you!" she said, and the rest of _LiD_ followed after. Sora grinned, and waved his hands.

"Yeah, thish ish my band! Cool, huh?" Riku shook his head.

"Well?" Both the Hypello and Sora turned and pointed down the street.

"Thish way!" they cried. Naminé cringed. There was a slight growl, before Riku grabbed the back of Sora's shirt and pulled him closer to the group.

"Stop _playing_ around – we gotta be somewhere!" Sora actually threw him an irritable look, throwing in a "wet blanket" remark to the older teen. Riku only rolled his eyes in response.

Naminé caught Kairi's eye, and she saw the redhead smile and shake her head. Glancing away in her own smile, Naminé's eyes trailed off to their surroundings, to the endless shops that Kairi was dying to explore; to the vast locations that Naminé had yet to visit; taking snapshots of the new scenery and framing them to memory – when a wave suddenly caught her attention.

It was brief, and Naminé wouldn't have noticed, if she hadn't been looking in the direction. There was a tuft of dark hair, a vivid smile in which Naminé suffered a brief déja vu, and it was gone. Naminé blinked.

Was that even real, or had she imagined it? She looked again, but among all the wanderers crowding the street, there was no chance she'd spot it again – if, of course, it had been there in the first place.

"…all right! Let's go guys! Nami, you ready?"

"Huh?" When Naminé came to, she saw that her sister was peering at her.

"You okay? Where'd you fly off to?" she laughed, but from Kairi's eyes, Naminé saw her older sister looking at her.

"Oh, um, it was nothing," she lied – well, kind of. What if it really was nothing? Naminé smiled, and picked up, "Let's go."

Sora jumped, and cheered, and within that same instant, Tidus was ready. "Race ya! Last one there –"

"– Has to wear Kairi's bra!"

A shriek, and a chain of curses, before, "Tidus, you friggin' stupid dumbass! _GET BACK HERE!_" There was a yelp of laughter, and the blond drummer took off running at lightning speed, a furious Kairi hot on his tail, as Sora kept up with the chase.

With a rolling of his eyes, Riku muttered, "Idiots. Feels like I'm babysitting them more than anything, for crap's sake. They're such a bunch of kids."

Naminé, amidst holding back her laughter, smiled. "Yeah, but it makes things that much more fun, right?" Well, that's how she felt anyways. Biting her lip, she briefly wondered what it would've like to travel with a serious group – but then, a serious group wouldn't have made it as a band, she realized.

Riku only shrugged in response; his countenance as apathetic as ever, with his hands shoved into his pockets, but she caught the brief twitch-of-a-smile he'd thrown her way. Ignoring the race, they chose to walk.

Banners and coloured flags were everywhere. A huge crowd had assembled on the grounds of the center square, and Naminé could barely see what was going on. She found the trio of troublemakers beside her; Kairi was avidly trying to choke the life out of the blond, but Sora was trying to retrain her, all the while laughing. Tidus wasn't helping matters by provoking the fiery redhead.

"What's wrong? Too short? Can't reach? Well –"

"Ti – going to _rip_ your little – , and _shove_ it –"

But what it was that Kairi was going to do, Naminé never heard. Another voice had intervened altogether, ringing through the air as it blasted through the speakers.

"… I think a round of applause is in order, for all of these highly-qualified people for coming down with us today." The crowd suddenly cheered and clapped, and Naminé stood on her tiptoes to see what it was they were applauding. Several men and women stood on stage, lightly bowing to the audience before them. "Thank you," continued the speaker, an all-too-familiar voice, Naminé realized. The people on stage inclined their heads in acknowledgement, as they walked off stage. But it wasn't the small group of officials that Naminé had her stare fixated.

It was on the pert blonde standing off to the left by a podium, in front of a massive stage background, clapping softly, picture-perfect smile on her face.

It couldn't be.

Oh, but it was – the bright, blonde hair that fell just below her ears, and grazed her neck. Her smug smile, and her eyes always laughing, as if sharing a private joke. And the way she tilted her head, jutting out her chin, forever looking down on others.

Larxene.

Or rather, President of the Bitch Club, as Naminé recalled the title her friends had endowed her.

Naminé could feel her breath rattling in her lungs – but for what? Maybe this was nothing – a fluke, really. An entire coincidence…

… that wouldn't really explain what Naminé had seen earlier. It couldn't be… a _coincidence_, could it?

"Now, I would like to introduce my partner, also a Master of Ceremonies for this riveting event, a promising candidate for this year's elections at Radiant Garden –"

Shit.

"– and an active member of the musical community. A fellow representative, well-honoured, and well-deserved; please welcome –"

Naminé forgot how to breathe. This wasn't happening – it just _wasn't_. This wasn't what her summer was supposed to be about! She was sure – _positive_ – that she'd left it all behind a month ago; hell, _more_ than a month ago.

What was going on here? What was Radiant Garden _doing_ here? Or rather, what were _they_ doing here, of all places? Wasn't she _told_ anything?

Kairi. Naminé whipped around, determined to catch Kairi's eye, but she was already looking back. And when she saw her eyes, she knew that her sister knew, too.

"Naminé?"

She jumped when she heard her name, and she knew her fright wasn't lost on the person holding her shoulder. When she flicked her eyes back, she saw that Riku had been startled.

"What –?" But Naminé looked away; only to see that Larxene, full in her Radiant Garden attire – a navy blue blazer, with a matching tie, and a grey skirt – had stepped aside. Even from here, Naminé could see her electric green eyes radiating with conceit – as always.

And as always, it never rivaled the solid blue of her partner-in-crime, now taking the place at the microphone.

Naminé closed her eyes. The hand on her shoulder had never left.

"Nami…?" a voice barely whispered by her ear. The world was quiet.

The only thing she could see now was the stage's background. A gigantic portrait; it's subject forever imprinted in her mind, and still tugged at her heart whenever her thoughts lingered.

She opened her eyes, glance fixated back at the podium, back at who was standing before her, and in that instant, their eyes locked.

And he smiled.

Something flashed in Naminé's eyes, before she felt a pulse run behind them. The humidity was thick in the air, but that wasn't what causing the sweat gathering at the base of her neck.

This was _not_ good. Not at all.

* * *

**A/N**: Well, another long chapter… but I blame Naminé and her descriptions for that. ; ) Again, I hope this chapter was okay – and the only way I'll know is if you review :-P


	11. Meet Your Match

**A/N:** As always, kudos to my lovely reviewers – always leaving such thoughtful words. :-)

SO… to begin… I should let you guys _know_ that as _much_ as I tried, I couldn't get over the "technical" difficulty of the final scene, so I've removed it from this chapter. Apologies. :-( Unfortunately, that was also a Whiplash scene. Muchos more apologies. :-( :-( :-(

Good news is that the removed final scene will open the next chapter – so I've already got, like, a third of the _next_ chapter done. w00t. And I think the planning is better this way too - so we'll see what teh happens!

I do hope you'll like this chapter, though, despite that it's a tad shorter than the other ones (just a tad, heh). It was meant to be longer… but… y'know…

Anywho, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Should I carve this into my skin, or something? xP

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Eleven_: Meet Your Match

* * *

There was a time, not too long ago, when Naminé had fallen in with mainstream; powerful and unwavering, it was all she do to submit to it. In retrospect, it seemed foolish, and the idea even repulsed her, but there was no _way_ she could've predicted the turn of events that arose from it all. She _was_ a girl, after all. A young, naïve one, at that, but a girl nonetheless.

And most girls then, had had their eyes on a particular social heartthrob, a natural charmer he was with his shamelessly good looks, poise, and grace. Even better yet, his prominence was topped off with an astounding class rank. It was clearly no surprise why he was the most sought-after male in all of Radiant Garden Academy.

Young, and _old_ women alike, Naminé recalled with slight disdain now, when she remembered the several scarves and gloves that were _knitted_ for him.

Even so, her own heart had tripped when she'd first laid eyes on him, his presence loud and intimidating. But what could she have done? She'd heard stories of him from other girls, and her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she just _had_ to look at him – a peek wouldn't have hurt, now really?

She'd almost fallen off her chair when he spoke to her, and she had to keep her lips pressed together so she wouldn't say anything stupid. But overtime, as the clever charmer that he was, he managed to coax her out of her shell, and she was none the wiser. She fell for him, and she hadn't known how hard, until she was left on the ground, the skies of reality a clear sight before her.

Marluxia.

How she should've known… if _this_ was who he was, she never would have looked at him, never had let _him_ look at _her_, dammit, but it was past now. What had happened had happened, and there was nothing she could do to about it.

The protective dam she'd built to keep all those memories at bay was cracking now, and she furiously fought down the wave, controlling the flood before they could drown her.

It didn't help that the very prominent memory was standing right before her.

She swallowed. What the _hell_ was she going to do?

A hand roughly shook her shoulder, and her sister's voice rang through her ear, "Nami? Keep calm, okay? Whatever you do, _don't_ let him get to you."

Naminé broke her gaze then, and turned to take in her fiery redhead of a sibling. She whispered back, "Yeah, I know." She was glad that Kairi was standing close beside her. She reached up to squeeze Kairi's hand gently, slight smile in gratitude, before bringing it down off her shoulder. Together, their eyes returned to the stage, Kairi's mixed with loathing, Naminé's with disbelief.

"… contract with Crystal Fissures Studio, founded by the late Headmaster Ansem the Wise, an extraordinary man, he was. We couldn't have asked for a more inspiring – "

Bastard! She couldn't believe her ears – how _dare_ he – he didn't even _care_, the ungrateful, stupid –

"Ow! Naminé!" It took her a moment to realize that she'd still been holding Kairi's hand. She released the death grip. "Don't let him _get_ to you! Didn't you hear me?!"

When she noticed the three boys around them were now staring inquisitively at them, she gave Kairi a _look_, saying to shush up. Naminé wasn't quite ready to let the others know. Not like this.

What a day this was becoming, honestly.

"… of course, remember that the submission deadline is tonight. On behalf of Radiant Garden Academy for Fine Arts, we wish you all the very best of luck. No doubt that only the best band will come through, and we look forward to the tournament. Have fun, and let the battle commence!"

His words were met with an explosion of cheers, and Naminé could only grate her teeth. Something was wrong. She'd known Marluxia for practically a year, and she could tell that _some_thing was going on.

The crowd jostled around them, and Naminé felt Kairi's grip on her arm.

"We should get going," she said, "No doubt there's –"

"– lots to talk about?" a voice quickly interjected. Naminé glanced up to see the blond drummer giving her a funny look. Sora was right next to him, and his eyes were filled with questions, concern etched around the corners.

She didn't need to turn around to see that the remaining teen was probably giving her a penetrating stare. She could _feel_ his eyes, for crying out loud.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, waving his hands in emphasis. She watched Kairi send him a look that clearly said _we'll talk later_. The fact that Naminé hadn't answered was not lost on everyone, and the tension was suspended in the air. Kairi's impatience to leave was only making it worse, as she practically demanded,

"_Guys_, let's just get outta here, okay? C'mon –" She began tugging on both Naminé and Sora's arms, but Naminé wouldn't budge. Kairi nearly tripped, if she hadn't been holding on to Sora.

"What gives, Naminé?" But the flaxen-haired girl wasn't listening – her eyes were trained back on the now-clearing stage. A ripple was moving through the crowd, as if people were moving aside…

Their eyes locked, in that instant, her own azure eyes once again clashing with a pair of striking blue. Her breath caught, and she bit her lip.

_What now?_

She could see him… moving, coming closer… dammit…

_Move!_

And move she did.

Naminé whipped around, nearly crashing into the person in front of her as she tried to barrel through the crowds. She did _not_ need this encounter, she _did not need this_… whatever Kairi had said about staying calm was flying out the window with Naminé, as her primary instinct told her to get out of there. Nothing good would come out of staying.

Her last encounter was proof enough.

A hand gripped her shoulder, and she heard someone cry out, "Naminé, wait!" She didn't bother to turn around, and choked out,

"I – "

"Leaving so soon?"

She froze.

_Nononononono…_

Around her, she could feel her peers pausing, too, to take in the newcomer. Her mind and pulse were racing – she wasn't sure which would overtake her first.

"Come now, Naminé, forgotten me so soon?"

Her shoulders stiffened. It was, after all, what she had hoped to achieve this summer.

She turned around, her eyes immediately drawing to the overly-styled, light-red hair. She tried to avoid his eyes this time, and in her peripheral, she could see that Kairi was practically bouncing on her heels, her hands curling at her side. The rest, however, just stood confused.

"What are you doing here, Marluxia?" she finally managed to say. He stood there, eyes narrowed, but with a lithe smile that offset the scrutiny. Naminé nearly bristled at the way he was watching her.

_Why_ did this kind of stuff always happen to her?

"I'm doing what I was invited here to do, Naminé" – she wanted to cringe at the way he said her name – "Of course, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" _That's right_, Naminé thought bitterly. _Make sure the fall is nice and big_.

"_Sure I do: to be an ass here, right?" _she wanted to say, but she knew better than to exchange petty insults. Well, at least in public, anyways.

In spite of herself, Naminé forced her tongue to spew out politely, "_Kindly_ enlighten me." Marluxia's smile was slow and surreptitious; to have called it a smirk was below him. Every movement of his was tacked with timing and grace – an art unto himself, a few have said.

"The Academy," he began, idly, "_specifically _requested that I come as a representative." But when he saw the slight furrow in her brows, he asked, "Surely, you must have known?"

"Known what?"

"That Radiant Garden was calling in for representatives after school ended. Countless phone calls and emails were sent out – " He paused when he saw her shaking her head slowly, her blonde strands grazing her forehead.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Naminé hadn't received _any_ phone calls – nothing, and she couldn't say anything for emails, since her computer was in for repairs – but surely, it couldn't have been all coincidence?

Marluxia sighed, but she didn't miss the glimmer in his eyes. "Naïve as ever, I see" – she narrowed her eyes (_How dare he be so condescending!)_ – "Dear Naminé, Radiant Garden was invited here – any of the more, well, _higher-ranking _students could come. After all, the school is _sponsoring_ the event; the record deal is made with its branching studio, remember?"

She bit her lip. He was right – Crystal Fissures Studio _did_ belong to Radiant Garden… well, sort of. It was Headmaster Ansem's studio…

Marluxia was still standing there, his hands now in his dress pants' pockets as he watched her carefully. His expression was clearly amused – if only she could wipe that stupid _smile_ off his face –

"A pity, now – you could've joined us up there. The honour was well-deserved."

To anyone else, the smile could have been warm and welcoming – a compliment in itself, really. But Naminé, _dammit_, did Naminé know better. Pressing her lips together, Naminé refused to speak even a word more to the faux-mannered boy in front of her.

"No?" Marluxia asked, one elegant eyebrow perched; it was short-lived, however, and his face rapidly melted into its smooth smile again "Well, regardless, Naminé, it was a pleasure seeing you again," he said. Marluxia held out his hand then, and her own twitched reflexively, but she held it back; her conscience taking a bruise at the neglected manners. He only laughed and shook his head, when he saw that she wasn't going to take it. He breezed past her, their shoulders brushing, and he said in a low voice, "I'm sure we can spend time together again, either way, hm?"

Her neck stiffened. – _Not if _I_ can help it._ She turned around, briefly, to watch him walk away, brows knitting at the strange encounter, when suddenly, she saw him flip her sister a wink. Her heart stopped.

Naminé nearly cricked her neck, when she whipped her head around to face her sister.

Kairi jumped back instinctively. Her own blue eyes were wide, and she opened her mouth, ready to retort –

"You _knew_ something about this?" Naminé accused, eyes livid. Her mind was racing once more, as she struggled to collect the random pieces flung her way. What was going on? Was _this_ why her sister had wanted her to come – because she _knew_ that Radiant Garden would be here? She couldn't believe it – Kairi would _not_ set her up like this –

"No _way_!" the redhead cried. She was actually grabbing on to Sora's arm – whom Naminé had nearly forgot was there, along with the rest of the group – and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the encounter.

"Then why'd he just _look_ at you like that, like – " But Kairi jumped in with a quick,

"I don't _know_!" The angry expression Kairi had worn during Marluxia's visit instantly evaporated with Naminé heated glare. Her throat burning with accusations, she cried,

"You _made_ me come!" Kairi stepped back, mouth agape, but Naminé only continued, "You _knew_ the school would be here – the winning contract is made with Crystal Fissures, _you would have known that!_" she gritted out. She couldn't believe how fast she was losing her temper. This was… she… _ugh_!

In the breath of a pause, Kairi composed herself, as she challengingly cried, "How was _I_ supposed to know that the studio belonged to your school! You never _talked_ about it! Hell, you didn't talk about _any_thing since you came home!" Kairi was reeling now, and neither sister seemed to be paying attention to the curious stares they were drawing around them. Nor to the fact that the boys on either side of them were shocked and alert at the growing argument.

"Ladies – "

"_You_ didn't tell me about the phone calls!" Naminé shot back. "It would've been nice to leave a _message_!"

"– calm down – "

"You friggin' locked yourself in your room, Naminé! I don't think you would've noticed if a friggin' tornado had blown our house away!"

" – _GIRLS_ – "

"And besides, it's not _my_ fault!" Kairi added heatedly. "Mom and dad were the ones who answered the phone calls – why don't you talk to them?!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Okay!" Kairi flipped out her cell phone, and was about to hit speed dial, when the phone was suddenly grabbed from her hands.

"_Knock it off! _What the hell has gotten into you two?" Naminé's blush was furious, when a pair of aqua eyes had managed to grab a hold of her own.

"Riku, give it back!" Kairi yelled, making a grab for the phone. Riku merely raised his arm out of reach, his stance rigid. It was Tidus who decided to respond, quipping with a snort,

"And what? So you can like call up and totally bitch at your parents? I don't think they'll take too warmly to _accusations_, y'know." The silver-haired teen had merely shoved the phone into his pocket, watching the two of them carefully. Sora stood between them now, and he hadn't blinked since the argument began. Naminé almost jumped when she suddenly felt his hand catch her shoulder, asking,

"_What_ is going on?" Noticing that he also had a hold on Kairi, she opened her mouth, and said,

"_Well_, you see – "

"– Nothing," Naminé cut in. She was rubbing one of her temples, her gaze now lost on the ground. "Just… I need some time to think…I'm sorry, Kai." She began to move away from the group, refusing to meet any of their gazes.

"What?!" the blond drummer cried. "Where're you going? You can't go alone!"

"I'll be fine – don't worry. I won't be far from the hotel," Naminé promised.

"But – "

"It's okay," Kairi suddenly spoke. She, too, was eyeing Naminé carefully. "Let her go."

Naminé left without another word.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Eyes cast downwards, Naminé glared at the ivory-white sidewalk she was strolling on, barely aware of the people she brushed past. Where she was going, she hadn't the faintest clue – the important thing was that it was away from _there_, from _him_… Naminé's scowl deepened. The _bastard_… how he thought he could just… _waltz_ over and… Naminé paused for a moment, breathing in. It would _not _do to let this fill up every waking moment – that's exactly what Marluxia wanted, anyhow. The center, the spotlight, the target… _stop it! _she scolded herself. _You said you were going to forget about him last year, so stick to it, girl_.

Maybe it was the fact that the voice sounded so much like Kairi's, but Naminé's mouth twitched into a sad smile. That had been no good, losing her temper like that, but then… shaking her head, Naminé finally took in what was around her.

Pity she had no idea _where_.

Around her, bustling people clutching children's hands and loaded shopping bags moved on, eyes locked straight ahead. Rusted minivans and shiny cars mingled with pedestrians and public transit on the road, accompanied by a fair amount of hostile words. Naminé winced as a particularly aggressive driver was forced to stop in mid-road for an equally aggressive mother and young son: Naminé had been _certain _the insane trucker would maul them over. But once they had passed into safety, the young son (to Naminé's horror) had promptly flipped the driver a rather rude hand gesture with impunity from his mother.

Naminé shook her head in disgust. Thank _goodness_ the citizens of Hollow Bastion had a _smidgeon _more class than this.

Chewing her bottom lip, Naminé anxiously glanced around. Behind her was what looked like a beading specialty shop; across the street, there was an inn, a small travel agency and a private theatre. Trying not to allow her nerves to get the better of her, Naminé began to move down the street (again, having no real clue – _but better to look busy_, Naminé thought). She passed a number of stores – Ten Munny Typhoon, _McGregors_ Fast Food, _Hoochie's _Bar and Grill, _Salem's _Tricks and Secrets…

… woah, _wait_. Naminé went bright pink, and quickly turned back the way she came. She had _definitely_ turned down the wrong street to be _here_.

It was a while before Naminé reached somewhere that looked somewhat inviting: an arts district, it seemed. Around her, she could see arts and crafts supply shops, record stores, exotic fashion havens and even small instrumental boutiques. For the first time since leaving (_more like running away, _Naminé's conscience scathed) the others behind, Naminé felt at ease.

Slowing down to a more leisurely stroll, Naminé allowed the warm afternoon air to sink down over her. The material of her attire was thin, providing comfort against what would be stifling heat and humidity. This particular street was quieter than the others – any noise that was from the entrance to an elegant theatre house. Somewhere, though, over the babble of the crowd, Naminé heard the faint whistle of a flute.

The sound clicking immediately in her head, Naminé began walking towards the source. That tune, that movement, that ring… wait… _ring_? The acoustics that were rattling into the air were from no flute – no… the only instrument that could produce those ringing chords and dramatic touch had to be…

… the piano. Of course.

A smile forming slightly on her lips, Naminé slipped inside the small instrument boutique. Along with the sounds of a piano coming from another room in the store, a light choir CD was playing through the overhead sound system. It was a quaint shop – there were all sorts of custom made instruments, most common, some that Naminé had never seen before. Potted plants and artfully cut windows were around as décor, with a faintly burning incense on top of that. A wizened man stood behind the Cherrywood counter near the front, chatting with a mother and her young daughter over the purchase of a harp.

The man gave Naminé a warm smile as she entered – which Naminé returned gratefully, _goodness_, she needed to smile more today – and then went back to his customers. Naminé picked her way through to the back room, where she could see the larger instruments rested. She was _sure _the music was coming from here – whoever was playing had truly mastered the piano: the pianist wasn't just banging keys, they were gliding as smoothly as a figure skater on ice, with all the tricks and spins decorating the sound.

Peering around, Naminé gave a start when she saw the back of the person who was playing. Whatever Naminé had been expecting, it certainly wasn't _this_: a young man (at least Naminé thought it was a man – it was hard to tell from the back, after all) clad in navy, baggy jeans; worn down skater shoes; and a pure black hoodie that was being fully used. A frown creasing her forehead as she contemplated whothis person could be, but not a bell was ringing. Instead, Naminé contented herself with leaning against the doorjamb and listening to the person's prowess, closing her eyes to allow the sound to fully wash over her.

The melody rose and fell for the duration of the first movement – it was shadowed by a gentler harmony that could only just be caught swaying over the stronger baseline. A scale in thirds jumped in at regular intervals, adding for a bouncier touch to the reoccurring half and whole notes that seemed to mesh together to form a comforting hymn. There was no dramatic finale – the piece began, little by little, to slow down and 

quiet, summing up to a whisper-out-the-door finish with a light tremolo. Opening her eyes, she saw the person wiping pale hands on their jeans, and Naminé couldn't help but bring her hands together in a brisk, solitary applause.

The person gave a start (nearly falling over out of their seat) and whipped around. Naminé had barely gotten a look at the pianists face before he had shot his head right back around, but she conclude he was indeed a _he_. Blond tufts of hair had fluttered over his face and covered his eyes, giving her a glimpse only of the tip of his nose and the pale, cracked lips. He said nothing, so instead, Naminé praised, "Very nice – I've always loved Scrooge's concerti." A pause, and then the teenager replied in a gruff voice,

"Thanks." Another pause, and the next time he spoke, his sounded as though he was trying his hardest to sound apathetic. "You… ah… you know about Scrooge? The composer?" Naminé bit back a smile, even though the teen still wasn't facing her.

"Of course – I study music, myself."

"Yeah?"

"Yes – the flute… and Scrooge has written scores for complete orchestras, no?"

"Mhmm."

Frustration was beginning to build in Naminé – so far, she had gotten only one complete sentence out of the guy, and he _still _wouldn't turn around and look at her. In fact, from the way he was behaving, she highly doubted she'd even get a name if she asked for one. Instead, she moved forwards a few steps, on the pretence of actually studying the sheet of music propped up. Sheer curiosity demanded that she see this fellow musician's face, and so once beside the teenager, she turned to look at him. And stopped dead.

"_Roxas_?"

Oh, he wasn't wearing the crisp shirt and the designer shades, and certainly wasn't flashing any million-dollar smiles at anyone – but this was definitely him, judging from the picture Sora had shown her oh-so-long ago. However, if _Roxas _had been surprised, he covered it up quickly and merely asked (in that same, idle voice):

"Have we met?" He still wasn't meeting her eyes though – not that it mattered. Naminé was still reeling in surprise – that made _two _less-than-likely people she'd run into in just one morning. Gathering herself, though, Naminé answered incredulously,

"You went to Radiant Garden – Sora's cousin, right?"

_There _was the delayed shock reaction – Roxas threw himself around to face her so fast the he really _did _topple the piano stool over towards her, legs flying up –

"Damn!"

– and crashing straight into the piano, which thankfully remained upright despite the loud _thud_ that had accompanied the conclusion. Naminé, unfortunately, hadn't fared quite as well – Roxas had knocked her over as well, landing messily on the hardwood floor. The shopkeeper came around, and frowned disapprovingly. Brow still furrowed, he asked,

"_What _is going on in here?" Naminé flushed a deep red, and scrambled back to her feet again. Roxas, however, threw back his hood for the first time and stood up quickly and – Naminé was startled at the rapid change – gracefully. In a much different tone than what he'd used with Naminé, Roxas replied,

"Nothing at all; I was just startled – my apologies, it won't happen again, sir." After a moment's thought, the man nodded and walked away – but Naminé was left almost wanting to _cringe _with all the formalities she was having to deal with today – and with a sickening wrench, she all-too-clearly was back to that morning, and Naminé had to physically shake the thoughts away. She _couldn't_, she _wouldn't _deal with this – with _him_. While Naminé was still wallowing in these thoughts, however, Roxas turned to her and asked tentatively (Naminé noticed the lack of attempted indifference), "How… how do you know Sora?"

Naminé quirked an eyebrow. "He's my sister's boyfriend," she responded. "I came down here with them for – "

"You – he – she... _what_?!"

Roxas was still spluttering, poise completely forgotten, be it the grace of an ex-Radiant Garden student or the attitude of a hard-ass teenager. And for some insane reason, Naminé had to fight the bizarre urge to break into hysterical laughter, despite the anxiety of the present circumstance. Ducking her head, Naminé pretended to smooth out her dress, watching Roxas out of the corner of her eye. He was still looking utterly shocked; too stunned for words.

"Where is he?" Roxas asked sharply, as soon as he pulled out of his reverie. Naminé couldn't help but be suspicious – this was _never _how she had expected Roxas (despite how fitting it seemed, oddly enough), and she had a funny feeling that neither would Sora. So Naminé chose her words carefully when she answered,

"Around."

Brilliant, if she did say so herself. Roxas wasn't an idiot though – his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said rather aggressively, "Want to come for a walk?"

Lips twitching, Naminé managed to agree.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

What the _hell _was going on was one thing Riku would _definitely _like to know. Some pink-haired idiot shows up, starts a whole lot of shit, and then smirks off leaving behind two _very _pissed off ladies. One of which got her freaking ass out of there so fast that 

Riku hadn't even had time to _ask _her as to whether or not she wanted the pinky-guy dead.

Then again, Riku already personally wanted him dead, anyways, so that was enough reason right there.

So here he was now, sitting at this little café with these dorky (or _adorable_, as Kairi squealed in spite of everything) Hypello taking their orders. One of them was raving to Sora (whom the Hypello seemed to have taken a liking to since they had walked in and the Hypello had shouted, "You liked the foodsh, then?") about how he ought to try the _Shea-Shide-Shubs_ and Sora was actually conversing right back, with the accent and everything.

"Yesh?" said Sora. "Thesh shubs are the besht, no?"

"Yesh, yesh!" The Hypello nodded excitedly. "Besht shubs in all Twil-li-light Shity!" Tidus, predictably, snickered at this unintended profanity. And, just as surprisingly, Kairi smacked the blond over the head while hissing,

"Grow _up_!"

Riku rolled his eyes – at least things had calmed down after that morning's blow-out. Granted, what could've possibly happened to Naminé was still lingering in the back of his mind, but for now, everything else was… well… back to _normal_, so to speak: Sora the dork, Kairi being cranky (well, Riku figured she must still be reeling a bit) and Tidus… well, Tidus being the babe-watcher. And it seemed from the way his attention had suddenly diverted, that he had indeed found something to watch. Make that _stalk_ – Tidus was already stretching as he stood up, faking an overly large yawn.

Riku frowned, having half a mind to just warn the three girls to leave now. One of them was a mousy brunette, whereas the other two were a perky and an apathetic blonde. All of them were seated around one of the other outdoor tables, scanning the menus. They looked vaguely familiar to Riku, but he couldn't place from where. But then again, Riku could just as easily be making himself a target for misandrist slander by assuming they couldn't handle themselves.

Tidus – Riku groaned – leaned back in his chair and eyed them carefully. One of the girls – the cheerful blonde one – was talking animatedly to the other two, accidentally knocking over a salt shaker onto the floor with one hand. The girl let out a giggle and leaned over to scoop it up, when Tidus (after a knowing look at Riku) declared loudly, "Nice view from here, isn't it, Rik?"

Riku scowled deeply – that was _seriously _pushing it, and the asshole didn't need to include _his _name in his lewd games. Not that they had _actually _seen anything when the girl had leaned over, but the girl straightened immediately and glared at him. She opened her mouth to snap something equally crude back; then Sora cut in (who had been conversing eagerly with the Hypello the whole time),

"Dudesh! Lishten to thish Hypello! He'sh shaying I got the acshent down pat!"

Riku, incredibly suspicious of this excellently timed remark, simply grinned and replied, "Great. Now me and Kai will just grab some paint and we'll merge you right in with the crowd."

"And I'll bash your head in, so that we can get you short enough as well, okay?" Tidus threw in, annoyed at the interruption. And, amazingly, the blonde girl, who had looked so pissed off a minute ago, cried in response,

"_Seriously_? Ooh, I've been working on it to… its so cool, isn't it?!"

Sora looked equally surprised, but pleasantly so, and replied, "I think its just awesome, all these different races and stuff, you know? We all – " Sora waves a hand around the table " – come from a mostly Hume area, you know?"

"Yeah, completely! Well, actually, where me and my girls live, we've got a few other races, and I've even met a few Hypello before… but never so _many _before! It makes coming here a blast, don't you think?"

Sora grinned, and the blonde girl pulled up a chair to straddle backwards so they could continue their conversation about _all_ the wonderful and exciting diversity of Twilight Town. Riku rolled his eyes, but had to stifle a snicker when he saw Tidus glaring at Sora. If Sora noticed, he made no acknowledgement of it – Riku noticed, though, that Sora _did _subtly take notice of his girlfriend's jealous glare, and he calmly slipped an arm over her shoulders without breaking off his conversation. Kairi looked immediately contented.

More for lack of anything else to do, Riku turned to Tidus and asked, "So, he still the whore, then?"

Tidus scowled very deeply, and with a voice laden with envy, he replied, "I don't _get _it, man. Sure, I can charm the ladies, but how come Sora gets to keep them all? He hits it off with this chick, Naminé's already fond of him, and him and Kairi have been dating for practically three years now! _Dammit_!"

Pushing his chair back so that he could rest his feet on the café table (to which a number of Hypello glared at him for – which wasn't very threatening at all, really), Riku replied thoughtfully, "I dunno… maybe its because he's so positive and shit, and women want to know that everything will be all right all the time – its reassuring?"

"Or women just want what they can't have, the lucky bastard."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

Riku and Tidus fell into a manly-sort-of silence of manly-sort-of-thoughts, at least, until the 'lucky bastard' interrupted them. Grinning, Sora relayed, "Hear that, guys? Rikku – " Riku's eyebrows shot up and Tidus snickered idiotically " – here says that her friends came down as a band as well! _Dude_!" Trying to gracefully recover from the momentary loss of composure, Riku managed to _slightly _perch an eyebrow and ask calmly,

"Yeah? Nice to meet you, then." Riku inclined his head towards the other two girls who were still sitting at their table, but now sending them curious glances every now and then. A slight surprise hit Riku when he saw that Tidus was watching the brunette – but not with his usual flirty manner. Instead, it was almost a careful, attentive face that Riku had rarely ever seen before. Trying to both figure out what the hell was up with Tidus, and remain in the conversation at hand, Riku asked _Rikku_ (damn, that sounded strange even to him), "Those friends of yours… is that your band, too?"

Rikku pumped a fist into the air energetically and exclaimed, "_Hellz _yeah! Ladies! Get your asses over here, you gotta meet these guys!" Riku actually _winced _from the sheer vibrance radiating from the girl – that, and she was yelling loud enough for the entire café's occupants to hear. Indeed, a number of the female customers actually peered around in interest – including some that were already looking bored with their male companions. Riku didn't even have to _look _at Tidus to know he was smirking and waving at them.

And then, of course, the Rikku-girl made it worse by _actually _yelling to the café, "Not _you _guys, even if you all rock! _Yuna_, _Paine_!" At this, even Tidus dropped his smirk, and Riku was left wishing these seats came with an _eject _button. The recovery of Tidus was quick, though – the brunette had hopped up and looked excited, and the pineapple blonde stood up (at the prodding of the brunette) as though she couldn't have cared less.

The brunette, once over, said with a warm voice, "Hey! I'm Yuna, and that's Paine over there. Don't mind her; she's just a little antisocial." Paine, in all the goth fit for a queen, merely scowled at this comment, red eyes watching Riku and the others carefully. Riku wasn't entirely sure if he should laugh at her theatrical attire, or take her indifferent aura as a challenge to his own. Inasmuch, Riku crossed his own arms and settled on his moodiest glare at everyone. He could have sworn Paine's stiff lips almost twitched into a smirk when their eyes met. Almost.

" … and we've been running over the lyrics _over _and _over_, trying out different hooks and melodies for my vocal range, you know? How about you guys? Who's your lead singer?" Yuna was saying, and her eyes fell on Kairi. There was a pause for a moment, before the entire band burst out laughing.

"Ka-_Kairi_?" Tidus managed to choke out. "Oh, for sure, her off-tune melodies and scratch vocals are just _sheer _art! We swear!" It was one of those rare moments when Kairi laughed equally as hard as him, and they even slapped a high-five. None of them had to try particularly hard to recall the only attempt at singing Kairi had ever done.

It must have been at her thirteenth birthday party, and during 'karaoke-time' that her mother had _insisted _they try, Kairi had been the first to take the microphone, as birthday girl. And, well, despite it being a brand new system her parents had just bought, after Kairi had finished wailing along to _Girl, I Feel Like a Man_ (by some country singer)… well, nobody else had _quite _been able to use the thing after that, what with the TV short circuiting and such.

"Well… well, I'm sorry! Really! I just… just…" A red-faced Yuna couldn't continue, spluttering and ducking her head. It was most likely this that brought Sora to his wits, and still grinning, he corrected her by inclining his head towards Riku.

"Naw," Sora said, eyes sparkling. "We've got the grumpiest one out of all of us writing the lyrics and belting them out… adds character to the band, see."

Yuna hid a smile behind her hand and managed an, "Oh! Come on, he has to smile. We all have to every now and then, right?" Caught off guard by this peculiar comment, Riku raised his aquamarine eyes to hers, and realized with a start that her one eye was green; the other was blue. She must have noticed that _he _noticed, and she lowered her hand to reveal a genuine smile, multi-coloured eyes sparkling. Riku returned it with a playful smirk of his own and said,

"Yeah, maybe. But my voice isn't exactly suited for cheerful melodies, if you know what I mean – and its hard enough getting lyrics down as it is." He didn't mind talking to Yuna about these struggles, for some reason. There was quiet for a minute, but a loud banging from the indoors of the café interrupted them briefly. Riku paused, frowning at the doors leading to the patio, expecting a _fight_ almost.

Turning her gaze away from the building once the noise quieted down, Yuna raised an eyebrow at Riku, and asked, "Well, at least you've gotten them over with, then."

"Not really," Riku grimaced in response. "I… well… I dunno. We're still finishing up the words to our final song, you know? We still got time till the deadline but… like, we've got most of it done, but I dunno… it just doesn't… _feel _right." Yuna nodded empathetically.

"I know what you mean. When I'm singing a song, even if the words rhyme and fit the beat or whatever, and even if the stanza I'm on makes sense with the rest of the lyrics… sometimes, I'll change it up every time I sing it, until it just _soothes _you, 'cause it feels so right – "

"Look-ee here, the punks are still stinking up the _air _I'm tryin' to breathe," an unfamiliar voice sneered from behind Yuna. The brunette turned around curiously, whilst Riku peered around her to get a look at the intruder. A blond young man wearing a navy tuc was standing at the patio doors (and flanked by a few friends, it seemed), glaring at Sora, Kairi and Tidus. Riku's own eyes narrowed slightly – he definitely could _not _recall meeting this dumbass any other time.

The blond walked – no, _sauntered_ – over, his white, sleeveless trench coat flowing out behind him as he did so. He stopped right in front of Sora, Kairi and Rikku, though he completely ignored the last. Distaste mixed bizarrely with a sadistic sort of enjoyment was written on his face. Riku had tensed – but though he was dying to jump up and stand in the way of the asshole, he was trying his utmost hardest to respect the others.

Everything had gone quiet at the table, and Sora ventured to greet, "Following us, now? Did you miss us whooping your ass that bad?" Riku's eyebrows shot up at this – firstly, that was _not _how Sora normally welcomed strangers (although, by the sounds of it, this 

was no stranger at all), and _when _had these three gone ass-whooping without him? Riku was running through his memories when he heard Rikku snap,

"Oh, _whatever_ – you're just jealous that you couldn't win against these guys, you big meanie!"

"_Excuse me_? I was kicking the redhead's pretty little tooshie completely fine, and if her swatty boyfriend and buddy hadn't jumped in to rescue her hide, than I'd won the match fair and square!"

"_Right_!" burst out Sora, who had jumped to his feet with the words. "_Sure_! Like trying to break someone's arm is _fair play_, you – "

"Screw this! Doesn't matter if we won that stupid Sandsea thing or not! We'll take you on, you and your buddies, right now!" Tidus was glaring heatedly at the stranger, with an alarming amount of anger on his face – Riku also realized that Tidus had been unusually – _unnaturally_ – quiet for the entire duration of the three young women joining them…

But that was pushed very far from his mind with far more important discoveries. Like _what_, for example, these three idiots had been up to while he and Naminé hadn't been around. And it didn't take a genius to piece the clues he was hearing together – although, it did take people as stupid as this stranger, Kairi, Sora and Tidus in order to spill the beans when they had so dearly tried not to.

Tension was running high, anger was apparent on everyone's face (except for Paine, who looked as bored as ever) – scowling, Riku stepped over. It was _not _his job to play intermediary, dammit, that was what Sora was for, but this was very quickly going to get out of hand; the Hypello waiters were already eyeing them nervously, no doubt wondering if they'd be able to put a stop to it.

Slamming his fists down on the table, Riku stood up and spat at the stranger, "_Look_, dumbass, you wanna fight, then we'll fight you – no problem. But your outnumbered by a _lot_ – let's just hope you're not as stupid as you look…" Riku gave him the once-over, and sneered, "I'd book it while I had the chance, if I were you."

The stranger scowled equally as deep, and replied, "It's _Seifer_, to lamewads like you. And you know what? I came here to eat, not to crush suckers like you – " Seifer punched one fist into his other hand to demonstrate his 'brute strength', no doubt " – and its not _my _problem that these twerps have found a couple more loser friends to hang out with. Stay outta my way."

And with that, Seifer turned and left rather theatrically, and the muscles in his friends and the three girls relaxed almost instantly. A grin had just spread over Sora's face, and Kairi was saying, "Sorry about that, ladies – some men just don't get it, ha! Have to lie just to get outta troub – "

Riku was so enraged, he could barely speak – he merely let out a threatening growl at the statement. His friends fell silent, while the three newcomers were watching him 

with the expression one wore when confronting a wild gorilla that had just escaped its mad zoo-keepers that were feeding it peanut butter while people threw peanuts at it. _Ugh_, the _irony _of such a tragic situation.

But Riku was no gorilla – Riku _knew _shit had gone down, and he was effing pissed. Eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, fists balled, the muscle in his cheek working and static practically _flying _from his hair, Riku spat,

"_What. The. F – _"

"All right! All right!" Sora cut in hastily, his eyes shifting around, as he rubbed his neck. "We'll explain…"

It was just oh-so-convenient right then that Kairi and Tidus _both_ needed to use the bathrooms.

* * *

**A/N:** Heh, heh. I hope Riku's scene didn't seem too odd… I did the best I could. If I'd added anymore, I think this chapter would've blown over 30 pages!

So yeah… and I apologize for the back-to-back Naminé scenes. It was Roxas' POV that got cut out here. : S If I get the next chapter right, then Whiplash will be more... prominent in it... well, they'd _better_, cuz some shitz gonna be goin' down in a few, and they _can't_ be left out of the _fun, _now can they? xD

Lol, so yeah, yayzerz, comments/reviews are always welcome!


	12. Hear, Hear

**A/N:** Heyyy… been a while, no? Sorry, school has been totally hectic. I managed to crank out this chapter in like a few days for you guys, since it wasn't too hard to write. Lots of talking and stuff… hope you still enjoy though. Listen up! xD

Thanks again for all your reviews – you guys are awesome and totally push me to keep writing this! Also, thanks for your patience. Without further ado… _begin_! ( : (this one's a long one, btw)

**Disclaimer:** No! Yeesh!

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Twelve_: Hear, Hear

* * *

Where the _hell_ Roxas was, Axel had no idea. And quite frankly, keeping tabs on that little blondie was becoming more trouble than it was worth.

Okay, no. Roxas was worth the world. Not, of course, that Axel would ever_ say _that. Then again, maybe if he _did _it would do the whole world a favour… who wouldn't want Axel professing his –

"Dude!_ Where _are you taking us? To a strip club?" Demyx chuckled at his own wit; Axel rolled his eyes. Honestly, as great as Demyx was, he was a total moron most of the time. And "clocking in" at four-twenty wasn't exactly helping. Axel's own nerves were feeling a bit jittery – maybe he shouldn't have accepted that damn baggie from Xiggy? Axel knew very well his eyes were bloodshot, his senses were flaring and_ dammit all_, Roxas was the only thing on his head. Freaking lame – pot was supposed to _loosen _your concentration, not throw you into a whirlwind of solid colour. What a jip.

"Yeah, Dem, in the middle of the bloody afternoon, I am taking us to party 'cause we're that cool to…" Wait, what was Dem blathering on about? Roxas at a party? "Ahhh… you know. That."

"Haha, sure…"

Pulse pounding in his head, distorting the already bent sidewalks, Axel said over his shoulder, "Roxas! Any idea where that jerk went?"

"Awha?"

Sigh. You know what? Who cared anyways… life was good as it was. Nothing wrong with that. Axel replied lazily, muscles feeling unstrung, "Never you effing mind…" Hands jammed in the pockets of his pale blue jeans, Axel added, "Yo, dude, where are you taking us?"

"Ehhh…" Dem stopped for a minute behind him, so Axel swirled around to face him. Whoa… bad idea. Very bad. World swirling not good at _all_… what the _hell _Xiggy, honestly? Wait! Where was Xiggy! Where was Roxas, for that matter? Dammit all! Off he goes, yet again, that Roxas… Demyx leaned against the brick wall of building (or at 

least Axel assumed it was brick – it was red and hard and Axel didn't care much to make sure) and replied, "Dude, I think we were looking for food."

Food? Axel frowned – he was definitely hungry, come to think of it. Food was good. "Yeah, whatever. Maybe we'll run into that jerk if we go…" Demyx obviously wasn't listening anymore, and Axel glared at the fauxhawked teen when Demyx ran past him shouting,

"Dude! A beach! Beaches have food and chicks and food and water and –"

"Roxas?"

Dem stopped, turned, and gave what Axel thought was a funny look. Not that Axel was in any position to be guessing emotions, feeling his pulse racing in some sort of horror-film roller coaster ride.

"Yeah, Ax, maybe Rox too." Axel grinned, and would have remained perfectly content if Demyx had decided to add on snickering stupidly, "Dude, you are _whipped _for –"

Dem couldn't finish the rest of that line, what with Axel's hand introducing Dem's face to the sand.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Wait, what?! He took his _band _– they came in first, right – and now _they're all down here_? Sora and Kairi – damn, she was a – eh, uh… nothing, I meant, she's a wholesome girl, Naminé, but… Tidus? Who the hell is that? And… _Riku_?_ That _Riku? You mean the neighborhood emo hasn't just crawled into a hole and _died_ yet? Why hasn't Sora –"

"Roxas!" Naminé exclaimed, exasperated. They had gone through this all, already, Roxas knew. But, this was… preposterous! (_Been a while since I used that one; Axel would have laughed his ass off_, Roxas thought mildly, feeling a twinge of guilt at not hanging out with them at all). Shaking his head slightly, Roxas retreated further into his hood despite the sweat-stained smog of downtown Twilight City. What if Sora was out right now, looking for his wonderful, wholesome, suave cousin? What if Naminé had simply lured him into a trap! It _always _happened like that in the movies, _always_! The pretty little petite girl ends up being the _bitch_ and totally manipulates the hero of the story, and oh boy, Roxas _swore _he would not be one of those idiots sleeping with the enemy…

… wait, Naminé? Manipulative? She didn't look like she could hurt a fly – hell, she probably was a vegan too or something, never had a McChocobo burger in her entire pure life. Roxas jammed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and (but not before glancing around one last time) turned to look at the girl.

"Look, Naminé, I'm serious – they're _really_ here?" Roxas inquired quietly. Naminé sipped on the slushie (that Roxas had insisted on buying for her), then replied"_Yes_, Roxas, _why _would I lie about something like that? What could I _possibly_ gain from that? If I was really out to get you, don't you think I would have kept all that information about Sora to myself?"

_Blackmail_! Roxas burst out mentally. That's what this was! She wanted something in return, but… what the hell did he have?

"Eh, Naminé… okay. I get it. That's cool."

"Good," Naminé responded, sounding a smidgeon miffed at having been doubted for so long. Restraining the urge to roll his eyes, Roxas replied,

"I'm sorry that, you know, I just wasn't getting it. It's been…" Pausing for a moment, deciding how much truth there would be to tell, Roxas continued with, "I've had a rough day and enough on my plate as it is, with this whole – "

"Tell me about it," Naminé interrupted gloomily, zoning out. Although Roxas was a tad indignant about having been completely shafted, he was curious enough to ask,

"Yeah? Got drama stirred up, have shit hit the fan and…"

"_Hell_ yes. I just … this morning didn't go to well, you know? Its just like, the whole day started off bad and …" Naminé sighed and again, her thoughts seemed to take her away from the bustling street they were walking down. For reasons completely unbeknownst to him, Roxas felt _guilty _over Naminé's obvious discomfort. Dammit all, Roxas was starting to feel guilty about everything. That's what he got for allowing himself a conscience, honestly (_maybe if you listened to me more, you wouldn't _be _in this predicament_, the said conscience sneered in response).

"Eh, hey, I – you … saying stuff helps!" Roxas bit his lip – he had opened his mouth mostly to override the stupid voice in his head, but now he was too far in to back out. As bad as he felt for the girl, he didn't care enough to sit back and listen to some blondie's gripes and bitching. Naminé, in return, said in a voice as icy as her drink,

"Bit rich coming from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He had just been trying to help – well, okay, _pretending _to want to help, and she snaps!

"Come off it, Roxas – I can tell you aren't exactly in a desirable position yourself, or you wouldn't be hiding from the moral police like some sort of sinner." _Moral police_… that was just too perfect for Sora; Roxas actually laughed. Damn straight, that kid had a heart of gold and the strongest sense of _righteousness_ than of anyone Roxas knew. Because Sora was _so _freaking right – he knew it, Roxas knew it, dumbass _Riku _knew it and nobody would say anything, so here Roxas was wandering around frickin' _paranoid out of his mind _because Sora had to go and make everything right all the time…

… it was funny! It was freaking hilarious! And now here he was, trying to blame this all on everyone's knight-in-shining-armour! _Dammit_, if Sora could just _see_ his million-dollar cousin, Sora would probably piss himself laughing!

Gasping for breath, Roxas had to throw himself on to the steps of a formidable building (probably a bank or something) and fell backwards, still giggling as he made a grab for the railing. Naminé… she…

"You think…" Roxas laughed again, before propping himself up on his elbows to look up at a still-standing Naminé, "You wanna deal with _my _life? We'll swap, huh? _You _can deal with… with…" And Roxas stopped, so suddenly that even he felt the awkward silence. Quietly, Naminé sat down next to him, ignoring the strange looks from passer-bys, and prompted timidly,

"What, Roxas? What's wrong?"

For a brief moment, Roxas considered just blurting everything out. Just vomiting it all up into the lap of this tinier-than-life sweetheart, and letting someone else deal with it. But Roxas could already taste the wretched aftermath of the explosion – or maybe it would be an implosion, come to think of it – and decided against it. While a very simple conclusion, Roxas still felt incredible difficulty – like dragging - a - pair - of - snowshoes - through - a - blizzard -_ difficulty_ – in letting it slide. Instead, he settled on saying quietly, eyes on the cement steps he was sitting on, "It's just… my step-sister. I… she… I don't exactly get the benefit of the doubt with her, you know?"

He felt Naminé's hand on his knee, and he felt a double reaction of soothing and a sharp wince. "She… there's a hand in this competition, I think. Something foul afoot, and she seems to think I'd want to have something to do with it." Roxas wasn't entirely sure why he was saying this aloud, except for the fact that it seemed like a good political move. Screw over Larxene _and_ win some trust from this life-sized sugar-puff; dammit, this girl was bringing out the ex-Radiant Garden in him.

Naminé's hand tightened on his leg suddenly, but when Roxas looked up, Naminé's blond tresses were covering her face. She was facing the cement, one hand on his knee and the other one clutching her own – apparently, lost in deep concentration. Raising an eyebrow, Roxas nudged Naminé gently.

"It's amazing what people think they can make you do," Naminé said softly, still not looking at Roxas. "And then, you figure out that all along you didn't have what it took to just… " Biting his lip, Roxas was tempted to prompt her further, but decided against it. She was looking kind of moody. And dammit, Roxas had had enough explosives from under meek rocks for one day.

A few more moments of silence (awkward, on Roxas' part) passed, before Roxas stood up. He offered his hand to Naminé, who accepted and pulled herself up. As they began to walk – Roxas was glad, because they were getting some _really _funny looks sitting in front of a big old bank – Roxas commented lightly, trying to change the course of conversation, "I'm sure there's plenty of things you can do, though, right? What do you study at the ol' Garden?"

Naminé gave him a sidelong look, and responded with a slight smile, "Visual arts… taught by the Headmistress herself."

"Headmistress?" Roxas asked in surprise. When had…? "What about old Ansem?"

"He's… no longer with us," Naminé said in a terribly tight voice.

"How – "

"He's dead."

"Uh... okay."

Dropping the subject, Roxas took the lead through a crowd of people, grabbing Naminé's wrist. Despite the hustle and bustle of the downtown sector, another awkward silence had settled itself around them. Ansem had _died_? That wise old man without any laugh lines around his eyes, but had never said a harsh word to anyone? _Dammit_… Roxas knew there was no sense in even wondering why Larxene hadn't told him… but still. Too bad.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, Roxas winced when he saw a downcast Naminé holding onto his hand. Hmm. His hand – for a brief moment, Roxas considered gently flirting with her if it would make her feel better, but quickly changed his mind – that was way more Axel's forte than his. Tactful conversation might go over a bit easier. Ehh… when had this ever been so hard? Dammit, why couldn't Roxas _think_? Everything was just going around in circles, everything seemed to be flashing by yet dragging on forever, his emotions were totally shot; this was… _ugh_. Roxas' head was lightly beginning to pulse – he needed to sit down, _that's _what he needed.

"Roxas?" Naminé's soft voice grabbed his attention. "Roxas… you're shaking." _Shit_. Roxas snatched his hand away rather rapidly, tensing his hand into a fist. He quickly shoved his hands into his pockets, shakily searching through them. "Are… you okay?"

_No_, Roxas suddenly wanted to snap, realizing what was wrong. _Friggin' hell no_. But if Naminé had already caught him like this, he sure as hell wasn't going to dig his grave any deeper. Gritting his teeth over the throbbing headache he was feeling, Roxas winced discreetly when Naminé's voice pierced his eardrums with a, "Roxas? Are you – "

"Hey! Look – you hungry? There's a café right up there…" grabbing Naminé's hand once again – not before forcing his hand to steady itself – Roxas traipsed through the shoppers and jay-walked the road (much to Naminé's horror and protest – and the anger of a screaming driver) to the_ Sunset Terrace Ice-Cream Parlour_. Ice cream was good. Females liked ice cream. And quite frankly, he wouldn't mind the distraction either.

Once they entered the cool shade of the quaint café, Roxas immediately turned to her. "What flavour?"

"Huh? Oh! I mean, um…" Naminé fumbled for a minute, before continuing, "Hey, wait. You were already kind enough to buy me that slushie – I'm quite capable of paying for myself, thank you."

"Don't be ridiculous; that was my treat, as is this. So just let me get this – "

"_No_ thank you, this is _not _a date or something, you've got nothing to prove – "

"Naminé, come on now. It's complimentary, _okay_? Besides, you don't even need to tell me the flavour. I can just guess by _looking _at you."

"Oh? Would you like to try?" Naminé questioned in a tight voice, yet to anyone who didn't float among the high ranks of society, the question would have sounded completely sincere and even sweet.

This, needless to say, infuriated Roxas more than any outburst ever could have. Not to mention that his nerves were still jittery; he was resisting the urge to twitch and tremble madly; and he _did not need this kind of bullshit talk_. Roxas was _not _going back to this, these endless circles painted in gold and blinding to the eyes. He very well wanted to roll his eyes and sneer, _you're a Garden student, honey, or have they still not slapped some reality onto your faces yet?_

"Yeah – let me guess, a pure vanilla white? I'll get you a drink, too, but we'll make sure its vir – "

"Marble! Marble with steamy hot fudge, honey-coated chopped almonds and topped with the biggest, juiciest cherry they have in this whole damn shop!" Naminé stood trembling from the outburst, tote bag held in both hands in front of her, in the process of being snapped open. The entire (albeit small) shop had quieted down at their argument, and someone made an empty cough. Roxas bit his lip, watching Naminé, who was growing steadily pinker. Finally, the clerk broke the silence by declaring in a small voice,

"That would be sixty-four munny, for the lady, please." The clerk gave a small smile, and then continued, "That's, of course, with the cherry free."

Naminé looked shattered, mortified and on the verge of undignified tears; Roxas smirked and walked up to the cashier, placing a two-hundred-munny note on the counter. Resting his elbows on the counter, Roxas said simply, "And I'll take a pure, white vanilla two-scoop. Keep the change."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

A whirlwind of emotions seemed to have ripped through their day, leaving Kairi and her friends scurrying in its wake.

"Calm_ down_! I'm_ sure _she's okay… and no, Kairi, I _don't _think she's… wait…"

Kairi wasn't listening, though, and she simply continued striding down the street. Past shops and restaurants, clubs and bars, Sora trailed after her, struggling to keep up.

"Kairi!" He tried again, running out of breath. "_Think_ about it! We're not gonna just _run_ into her! Okay? Naminé's probably just shopping and sight-seeing, or maybe she's up on some hill, sketching… you know her! She's not stupid! Nothing's happened, trust me!"

"How do you _know_?" Kairi spun around and screeched. How could Sora have _any_ idea? He… he… he didn't have a naïve little sister to worry about; it wasn't _his _idea to bring her along in the first place, he… "It's been almost _six hours _and she hasn't come back yet! She _could _be shopping, she _could _be doing crazy-artsy stuff, _OR _she could be kidnapped, or being mugged, or beaten, or, or …"

"Raped, killed, molested, brutalized; yeah yeah, we all know what _Most Wanted _feeds us. But come on – don't you think your sister is smart enough to stay away from dangerous places? And I mean, it's still sunny outside – and tons of people are around! _Think _about it!"

Crossing a cheap, greasy restaurant, striding past a rosy ice-cream parlour, shoving through crowds of people and jay-walking across heavy traffic roads, Kairi was on a rampage. For another fifteen minutes, Sora chased after the fiery redhead.

"Kairi! _Kairi_!"

She whirled again, but this time, Kairi knew her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed against pale skin. "Sora? What if… "

Sora didn't need to hear anymore. He put on a burst of speed to catch up with her, and wrapped her up in his arms. Resting his chin on her head, Sora squeezed her and said softly, "Let's head back to the hotel, huh? We can see if Riku and Tidus have come up with anything… hmm?"

Kairi, at this point, wasn't answering. She merely allowed Sora to take her hand and lead the way.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Turning back to face Naminé, Roxas smiled bemusedly at her. "Well? Go on and sit down, babe. I'll bring these right over." He supposed that in any other situation, even Naminé would have smacked him across the face for the derisive tone. At the moment, however, she was clearly too humiliated to even think clearly. Good – but even with this blissful triumph (over what, Roxas wasn't entirely sure) Roxas's hands were still itching to go for his pockets.

Grabbing his cone and Naminé's sundae, Roxas precariously made his way over to one of the double-seaters in the café. It was a smooth white table with pink and gold stripes on the seats (_how gay_, he thought mildly) – all matching the rosy décor of the place. The walls were painted in the washed colours of a sunset, and the main light in the 

center of the café was a crystallized sun-shape. The staff was all dressed to match too – Roxas almost pitied them.

Ice cream set on the table, and silent Naminé seated across, Roxas sighed. Her blonde bangs were over her bowed face, shielding, no doubt, shining eyes. Her pale, slender hands were resting on the table, clasped firmly together. Feeling a white-hot pierce of shame, Roxas stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket and leaned back, far too awkward to speak.

A minute passed.

"Eh… Naminé? I… uhh… your sundae's… yeah. Heh, big cherry. Haha? No? Okay."

Two.

The cherry on Naminé's sundae was slipping off the top of its pedestal of ice cream, making an agonizingly slow descent to the rim of the sundae cup.

Five minutes.

A song had started up. A gentle summery tune with just a hint of a minor scale, adding an evening mystique to the melody. Roxas checked his watch – holy shit, already seven at night? What the _hell_? Granted, there was still a fair amount of light outside to psyche out the unexpecting, but _still_…

"Naminé? I'm… sorry?" Roxas pleaded slightly. The condensation on the glass cup was really beginning to show. Ah hell; how was she supposed to help out with this whole Sora situation at all if he'd caused her to blow up at him? "Hey, Naminé, look… I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, and right through his teeth he continued, "Obviously, I totally humiliated you and that wasn't fair. At all. And you've… I mean, we've been getting along really well and I blew it. Sorry I fu – "

"It's fine." Naminé finally reached forward, and began picking lightly at the sundae. Roxas nearly wanted to cry in exasperation – this girl was being totally anal, honestly. Instead, he continued,

"No, honestly. I don't know what the hell I was thinking." And just for the freaking hell of it, Roxas leaned over and actually grasped her hand. He was too damn good at this. "Okay? I crossed the line and I… I just… rough day, okay? Not fair to take it out on you." Rough day, his ass. Sure, he'd had it bad, but he sure as hell had dealt with way worse and kept his temper in check.

"Right."

_Holy crap_. She obviously wasn't buying it as completely as Roxas would have liked, so he played it off with some mildly hysterical laughter. "Crap. Women are complex as hell, you know that? What do you want from me, Naminé? Roses of apology? A funeral for my pride? A song of remorse?" Okay, now he was losing it again. That sneering, bitter Roxas was coming back and this was _not_ going to help his situation at all.

"A song would be nice." Her words were so soft, that Roxas almost didn't catch it. Allowing himself a grin, Roxas replied,

"Sure thing: How the lady never forgiveth me for humiliating thouest, for I called her the chastest, and so she broke into vulgar raging screams and now she doth hate me with her aggressive pacifist…" He paused for a moment. "Nature. Pacifist nature."

Naminé, in spite of herself, burst out laughing. "Only a drama student," she laughed, "would use _that _kind of language for an apology. It barely even _rhymed_." Roxas smirked – genuinely, this time.

"So I take it you liked it?" Roxas asked, helping himself to a spoon and some of her rapidly melting sundae. Namine giggled again, taking scoops from her sundae much more happily.

"Completely. A work of art; I've got just the thing to compliment it," Naminé replied, beaming. Reaching into her bag, Naminé pulled out a thick notebook. Flipping through it, Roxas could see a number of sketches and pictures – all of which deeply impressed him. Roxas told Naminé this, and she simply laughed and thanked him. Then, pushing the book to face Roxas, Naminé tapped her finger on the picture.

"See?" she declared proudly. "I call this one _Birth by Sleep_." Roxas studied the pastel sketch: it consisted of intertwining vines, all interlocked to form the shape of an hourglass. The hourglass, notably, was on an angle, so thus the sand proportions (in this case, though, Naminé had placed in delicate rose petals as opposed to grains of sand) must have been skewed to their actual timing. "Well?" Naminé prompted eagerly.

Roxas blanked. "Um… it's clearly depicting the fact that time is a natural process, and yet the warped angle on this, here, um, hourglass shows that maybe it's nature that controls time and the balance is unbalanced, and… the flower petals represent gentle power? Roses and thorns? So… by just letting things flow, things as miraculous as birth will happen? Eh… passive assertiveness?"

Naminé's eyes sparkled, and with a grin she asked, "Is all your BS this carefully thought out?"

"Pretty much." Roxas smirked back. Naminé laughed, and Roxas held up the book. "You mind?" Naminé shook her head with a smile – hell, if Roxas knew anything about emotions as an actor, it was an admiring smile from her. Roxas began flipping through the book, never ceasing to be amazed by the talent that ran through her slender hands. Disheartened eyes, the merriest smiles, withered flowers and raging oceans… damn. This girl had mad skillz. The 'z' and everything, seriously.

When he got to the back of the book, Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Rushing wind…" Naminé went very pink, very quickly.

"Hey, hey, _hey_! Tha-that's enough!" she exclaimed, leaning over to snatch it out of his hand. Laughing, he held it out of reach, but agreed to stop reading aloud. Naminé 

settled herself back in her chair, and mumbled bashfully, "They're lyrics. I was trying to help out the band."

"Sora's band?" Roxas asked, intrigued now. "They haven't finished their lyrics yet?"

"Well, it's not Sora's fault really, writing lyrics is more Riku's – "

Roxas snorted. "Well, obviously nothing's gonna get done with that dumbfu – "

"Roxas," Naminé warned gently. Rolling his eyes, Roxas continued carefully,

"Okay. Well, I'm not _quite_ surprised at the obvious inadequacies of certain persons within my cousin's selected friends." Naminé hid a smile, and grinning, Roxas continued, "Let me have a go at them. C'mon; I can write anything better than him tenfold. Seriously."

Somewhat nervously, Naminé pulled a pen out of her bag and handed it to Roxas. Roxas, sighing, leaned back and began, "Well, first, honey, this is just not gonna work. 'Rushing wind'? Try… 'Wind rushes'." Roxas jotted that down. "See? A thousand times better than anything Reeking-poo could ever write." Naminé choked on biting back a giggle, attempting to look stern though. "This? 'Hushing cries'? Well, everyone knows songs have to rhyme, so how about… 'Cries hush'?"

"That doesn't make a lot of sense," Naminé said with a crinkled brow. "How about 'Voice hushes'?"

"Sure." Roxas scribbled out the original, and rewrote Naminé's suggestion. "Now… one more line… okay. See, this line here is crap. 'I'm sorry I couldn't hold the tide'? What the hell? That doesn't even rhyme with the original."

"Hey! That one was my line!"

"Whoops. Hey, okay, whatever, sorry. I was just being honest… this is good, though, the 'sorry' part. It adds a nice touch. But can't you find something to rhyme with 'hushes' and 'rushes' – "

"Blushes? Shushes? Lush? Crush? Crush_es_?"

"So… 'I'm so sorry, but…"

" '… the tide crushes.'. Perfect. You know what, Roxas? I think I like that."

"So you're thankful for my help?" Roxas asked innocently.

"Of course!" Naminé exclaimed, somewhat bemused. Roxas gave a wicked grin, and replied,

"All right. Well, then, this is my reward. I'm just gonna…" Roxas, however, didn't finish. Instead, he clicked the pen open and began scribbling a note in her book. Once he finished, he read aloud to an anxious Naminé,

"A message: dear Craptacular – my bad, Reeking-poo ("Roxas!" Naminé exclaimed, laughing a bit). You're lucky I was here to save your lame-ass with my talent, dedication, and passion. Inasmuch, I'm going to have to request you keep your disgusting face ("Aww, Roxas, seriously, give it back…") away from me – or if we have to come in contact, just hide it behind that horrid mop of prematured horse tail. We don't need to see what comes out of it ("Ahh! You can't write _that_! Give it back!" Naminé burst out, looking sterner). With love, Your Superior. P.S. You're fired from life, emo-boy."

"Roxas! You can _not _write that! I… give…" Naminé exclaimed, half-guiltily-amused, half-annoyed. Roxas, however, snickered, and clicked the pen. "Now for round two…"

"Roxas!"

"Ahh! I'm writing!" Roxas laughed when Naminé leaned over to snatch it from him. Roxas held it above his head, well away from her reach. Naminé, however, pounced across the table and knocked the book to the floor (the few remaining patrons edged their chairs closer to their tables). Unfortunately, Naminé's co-ordination wasn't too wonderful itself.

With a groan, Naminé realized that she had landed flat out in the left-overs of the sundae dish.

Roxas bit his lip, worried about another sudden outburst – until she burst out laughing. Roxas, in spite of himself, threw back his head and laughed as well. Naminé was quick to climb to her feet once she recovered from her fit (one of the clerks peered over, trying to decide whether they were completely mad or not), but doubled up again when she collapsed back onto her chair.

Still shaking his head, Roxas said, "Damn, Naminé, here… sorry about that. Your shirt…" Roxas handed Naminé back her book and stood up. Naminé tucked the book back into her bag, but shook her head upon glancing down at her own front as well. Her white blouse was completely smeared in the leftover fudge, ice-cream and general sugary goo of the sundae. Offering her his hand once again, he led her down the hall where the bathroom signs were hung.

Once outside the "Family Bathroom", Roxas leaned against the door, still smirking at Naminé. "Very graceful, you know. Your teachers would be so proud." Naminé laughed.

"So? You going to make _your _ex-teachers proud and be a gentleman?" she responded. Roxas grinned and held the door open to the bathroom.

"You go in there and clean yourself up – when you've finished moving the mess from your shirt to the rest of the bathroom, just open the door a crack and I'll slip in my sweatshirt for you, okay?" Naminé complied and slipped in, closing the door behind her.

Roxas, moving as quickly and subtly as he could, transferred all of the items in his hoodie pocket – including, say, the more questionable ones that he doubted even Naminé truly suspected him of – into his jeans. Cramming everything in, he managed to squeeze it all into his various pockets just as Naminé was opening the door.

"Hey!" she whispered, her slender hand flapping around like a dying fish. Just for the hell of it, Roxas waggled the sweatshirt tauntingly near her hand, coaxing her to come on out and get it; all the while laughing. When Naminé finally retreated her hand and locked herself in the bathroom again, Roxas relented and knocked on the door.

Roxas handed her the now-empty hoodie (although, Roxas was fairly certain there would be a certain level of smoking-scent on it… not too much, though considering he had barely chained through anything today thanks to Naminé). A few minutes later, Naminé emerged with the blouse presumably tucked in her tote bag. She looked a little strange, wearing his large _Jordan Falcon Underground _sweatshirt and her pinkish-red skirt, but whatever. At least she was clean.

Now clad only in a red t-shirt, Roxas motioned with his head to leave the dessert café.

"What, sick of me? Heading home already?" Naminé teased, lightly shoving Roxas through the door.

"It's almost nine o'clock," he told Naminé as they exited the parlour. "And little girls shouldn't be playing out after dark, right?" Though he had meant it in good humour, a very strange expression crossed Naminé's face, Roxas thought. Then again, it could have simply been a trick of the streetlights – Naminé quickly laughed lightly.

"I guess so. I'm not a big-city girl."

"Yeah? Man, you should see D'Arc. That place is crawling with people and shops… mostly people shopping, really. It's like the national heroin or something… gimme a hit! Gimme a hit! I swear, it's a matter of time before someone makes a proper documentary about that kinda crap. I'd kill to see that in theatres."

"Ha! Isn't that kinda ironic, going to _pay_ to see that movie? Then buying popcorn and pop, and maybe some candy while you're there… oh, and I bet there's a mall nearby where people would go while waiting for the film to start…"

"Hey, hey, I was just _saying_… yeesh. You think way too hard, Naminé." Roxas shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling the slight chill now, and surveyed the street. Damn, it was mostly dark and seemingly empty, but everyone knew that was when the real shit went down. Big gangsta shoot outs and cop fights… okay, not really. But still. Trying to keep his mind off of it, Roxas mumbled, "Besides, I'd just get them pre-ordered to my house…"

Naminé shook silently with laughter.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

" … So to make a long story short, the ass-hat ends up falling about ten feet and breaking through the ice into the lake, and I'm stuck in a janitor's closet for the next four hours smelling like banana peels."

"I'm sure Riku didn't _mean _to…"

"Of course not. The man is a _saint_." If Naminé hadn't gotten into the swing of Roxas' strange character, she wouldn't have caught the tinge of bitterness in his tone. Not wanting to cause any conflict, and not being able to bear any more slander against the poor Riku (who wasn't even here for his side of the story), Naminé didn't press it.

How strange, this cousin of Sora's. When Sora had described him, he had seemed almost… untouchable. Beyond the constraints of lower-class life, so caught up in his dramatic arts that he never had to worry about a thing of reality. She'd pictured a lofty, if not _snobbish_, young man. But this, _him_? The first to fly off the handle when they'd met, full of bitter resentment and snarky comments, yet so sociable when he chose to be? His hands were jammed in his pockets, and he was leading the way absent-mindedly through the dark streets.

While Naminé was thankful for the company in such a large city, she shuddered very slightly when she remembered his earlier words._"Little girls…" _How many young men were foolish enough to drop such a disturbing line? Naminé went slightly pink, thinking about Roxas very mildly flirting with her. And yet, the last time that _particular _line had been delivered, it had ended with a redhead being sent back to his room and a very angry Riku. Casting Roxas a side-long look, she tried again to understand just why him and Riku didn't seem too fond of one another. Too strange? Too angry? Or perhaps, competing, as peculiar as it seemed, for Sora's attention?

Sora… what was she going to do? She had as good as promised Roxas that she wouldn't speak a word of their meeting to his cousin, but surely, Sora would want to know…? _Would he? Would he want to know _this _Roxas?_ Eyes shifting to her sandaled feet, Naminé chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip.

No. No… she liked this Roxas, and it would be stupid to risk this tentative alliance for something Sora needn't even hear. Even if Sora had been so kind to her so far…

… oh _damn_. She owed Sora and the others one, but… wait.

Something occurred to her so suddenly, that Naminé almost tripped on her own feet. Roxas turned around quickly, asking if she was all right, and Naminé brushed the question off by asking,

"Roxas… that thing you mentioned way earlier… you said something weird was going on? With your step sister?"

Roxas raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then responded, "What? Oh, yeah, but I mean, that's probably just her being a bitch. She likes doing these kinds of things… probably testing me or something so she could hang it over my head. I dunno."

Naminé stuffed her hands into the front pocket of Roxas' hoodie, and looked up ahead. The hotel they were staying at was very close, and Naminé was starting to think very hard about the band she'd neglected all day. _Crap_.

"Roxas… you sure? Your sister – "

"_Step_-sister, and yeah, I mean, she's been like that since forever. It's just Larxene's thing…"

"_Larxene?_" Naminé stopped walking. They stood on the elegantly lit path that led up to the front foyer, lined with cherry blossom trees and a garden spotted with flowers and fountains. The curtain of night had drawn in closely now, and she had to step closer to Roxas to see his face. "Your step-sister is _Larxene_? Tall, blonde – "

"Bitchy and controlling? Sounds about right. Why, you know her?"

Naminé cursed under her breath, and said slowly, "Not _really_. She… she goes to Radiant Garden, right?"

Roxas groaned. "Riiiight… crap. Secretary of Student Council… shit, she loves that role. She only got it 'cause she was appointed, I swear, no one in their right mind would vote for her…"

"Hell _yes_, she was appointed! By the _President of Student Council_!" Naminé exclaimed, realizing full well that Roxas was completely clueless to her sudden hysteria. "Don't you see!" she continued. "It's… he… _argh_!"

Naminé stared up at the hotel, her fury at herself rising. _Why _hadn't she pursued the topic earlier? It was late, and there was no time to keep talking now… but if _Larxene _had a hand in it, then it was a guarantee that _he_would be involved as well.

Damn Marluxia. Count on him to make _everything _his business, even if it was probably just for some sick form of entertainment.

Larxene: Marluxia's right hand man. Or woman. Whatever. Their little clique of seniors who owned Student Council, made the decisions and the grades, made sure the juniors and every other inferior grade knew that… _ugh_. Of course, Larxene had been _semi_-nice, nay – _polite_, to Naminé back when she had been dating Marluxia. But as soon as the pink-haired idiot and her broke up, she…

… _she _was Roxas' step-sister? Casting a glance at the alarmed Roxas, who was watching her strangely but saying nothing, Naminé felt a sudden surge of pity.

Pausing just before continuing down the path up the grounds, Naminé told Roxas, "Okay… I just… wow. Sorry, but… trust me, she's probably up to something. And… keep an eye on her, would you? Especially if it's something that might compromise the fairness of this tournament…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Don't think I'll keep an eye on her though… I'd rather _not _spend time with that thing."

Naminé sighed. "Fair enough. I… okay. That's all right. I…" Damn, what an awful end to what had become an alright day. Trying to smile, Naminé said, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Roxas. I… thanks. You took a lot of stress off of me after… and, yeah. I had a good time." Naminé held out her hand, and Roxas (though still bemused) shook it.

"Sure thing, Naminé. It was my pleasure; have a good night, okay?"

"'Course. You too."

"And, umm… Naminé?" Roxas asked, looking slightly apprehensive. "About today… and… you know, the whole, well, today?" Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Could we like, not mention this to certain people…?"

"Including passing certain notes?" Naminé quirked an eyebrow as she asked. Roxas laughed slightly,

"Exactly. I'm, uh… my hotel is down that way, so…" Roxas rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Naminé nodded in understanding, and watched him leave, heading back down to the main road after saluting her off. Naminé shook her head and grimaced slightly. All the stress that she had shed off after spending the day with Roxas had come roaring back with him too. _Damn _Larxene… and Marluxia? _What _could he possibly want by adding his filthy hand to this competition? It was a freaking _band_ thing, where a bunch of teenagers got together, got high, rocked out and hoped for the best. Not… not the International Academy Awards, or something.

"_I'm sure we can spend time together again, either way, hm?"_

Naminé shuddered, thinking of that ungrateful slime even being near her again. But then again… she trusted Roxas; that much she was sure of. _Right_,_ because he's been so honest to his own blood_, a voice in Naminé's head drawled. Naminé winced. Still… he had seemed upset about Larxene. What would he have to gain about lying about that? Unless… he was on Larxene's side? This was just some ploy, he was just a pawn in those two aristocrats little games?

Damn this, Naminé couldn't be sure. Shaking her head, Naminé realized her feet had brought her to the front foyer elevator. Stepping inside the empty compartment, Naminé leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the wall as the elevator rode up. If this whole thing could become a problem, if Marluxia _was _going to make this all explode in everyone's faces…

… then, would it be worth it?

Questions still tingling in her mind, Naminé moved to room _519_, pulling out her key-card. This was ridiculous. This vacation was supposed to be _fun_, not cause more problems with that… him… the whole _freaking_ school…

Naminé heard the reassuring click of the door, but before she could even lay her hand on the knob, the door flew open.

"What. The. _HELL?_"

She saw a flash of red hair and the door was slammed in her face again. Naminé, panicking slightly, checked the room number. _519_. She checked the time. _10:00pm_. Eh… what time had she left them, again, in a total rage? Oh, crap. Major crap.

The door swung open again (as Naminé expected, Kairi had used this dramatic tactic since they were kids) and Kairi, leaning on the doorjamb, her face both alight with fury and wrought with worry. Her hair was disheveled, she looked pale – although she was flushed with anger now – and was glaring heatedly at her sister.

"Well?" She spat at Naminé. Naminé dropped her gaze, and felt Kairi grab her by the shoulder and drag her into the room. _"WELL?"_

"Kairi, calm down, you'll wake up the entire hotel," Naminé heard Sora's soothing voice hush. Sora, goodness, Sora… she couldn't tell him, and now she _definitely_ wouldn't be able to look him in the eye…

"BE QUIET? BE QUIET? DON'T YOU TELL ME TO _BE QUIET_!"

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Sora sighed in relief at the sight of Naminé, and settled into the armchair.

" … I'll have you know if you _died_, I would have _bawled my effing eyes out_, okay? I would have emailed mom and dad, and even though they'd kill _me_, I'd do it because I was _so freaking worried_. I mean, I can _not _believe that you – " Sora cut Kairi off from her rampage on Naminé, by asking Naminé quickly,

"Naminé – _are_ you okay? Is everything all right?"

Naminé nodded in response. Sora quirked an eyebrow – she sure as hell didn't _look_ all right. Kairi seemed to catch onto this as well, and she managed to ask in time, "Yeah?" The hysteria was still there, if not more reined in. "Sure you weren't _cold_? Hmm?" Kairi pinched the fleecy sweater Naminé bore, and Naminé winced. Sora shifted his feet so that Naminé could lower herself on the couch across from his armchair.

Naminé, sounding desperately on the verge of tears replied, "This? It belongs to a friend of mine! I… met up with an old friend from Radiant Garden, and we just… we were talking, and I lost track of time…"

"Naminé," Kairi cut in, her voice very tight (although her muscles had relaxed somewhat at the words 'old friend' and 'Radiant Garden'), "You could have at _least_ taken your cell phone with you. _How_ were we supposed to reach you?! You know I 

called fifteen times before Sora realized your phone was sitting on the nightstand?" Sora tried to grin encouragingly at Naminé, but the girl had lowered her head and was staring at her sandaled feet.

In Sora's opinion, she looked totally strange. He was so used to seeing her dressed all proper and clean, but this bulky sweater with her pristine skirt was incredibly awkward. Shaking his head slightly to refocus, Sora leaned forwards so his elbows were resting on his thighs, his hands clasped together. Kairi was still ranting on about phones, payphones, internet, GPS, ah… who knew, it was Kairi, for goodness-sake.

"_Look_, Naminé," Sora said quietly, getting both the girls' attention. "Look, just… you scared the crap out of _everyone_, okay? And…" Sora paused for a moment, not entirely sure if he should continue, but said, "I know that this morning was kind of… stressful, for you, and we get that you need your time and all, but I mean…"

"I… I know," Naminé said in a very small voice. Still not looking up, Naminé asked, "Where… are Riku and Tidus…" There was growing dread in her voice, though she needn't finish the question.

"Yes," Kairi snapped, half-annoyed, half-pitying. "They're still out looking for you. I think they said they'd finish up by checking the other four hotels that us bands are assigned to, and then… well, they'll be back. Someone needed to make sure you'd get back okay. I mean…" Kairi sounded as though she was going to go on a bit of a rant again, but thankfully, her cell phone ringing cut her off. Flipping it open, Kairi began pacing around the small living space as she spoke. Sora watched Naminé cringe as they heard the conversation.

"Yeah… yeah. Don't worry about it – you did _what_? Oh, for goodness sake, just come back now… she's here. Yeah, yeah. We – I know. Okay. Don't – Tidus, holy crap, not so loud, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood! Yeah, okay; you can tell her yourself when you two get back!" And Kairi flipped her phone shut, pursing her lips.

A moment of silence enveloped the three, and Sora struggled for words. While he had never _seriously _believed that anything had happened to Naminé, he wasn't going to lie about being a _teensy_ bit afraid. But, she _had_ said that she'd simply been hanging out with a friend. She forgot to call about curfew. No big deal! Hell, Sora still did that sometimes with his mom. Whatever. This would be cool; this would be okay.

Naminé shifted uncomfortably.

They didn't have to wait very long before an annoyed, "_OH_, she decides to come back _now_!" penetrated the room.

Tidus and Riku stood positively _livid _at the door. Sora groaned internally – these two needed a good smash across the head sometimes, honestly. This was _not _going to go well, if Sora knew anything about _their _"lectures" (lectures are, after all, for the coherent).

Tidus was the first to storm into the room, flushed in the face. His hair looked windswept – well, more than it usually did – he was shaking slightly from the cold and his hands were clenched into tight fists.

Striding so that he stood right in front of Naminé – with his ass in Sora's face, jeez – Tidus exclaimed, "What the _hell_? What the friggin' shit is wrong with you? Do you know how _long _we were out there _looking_ for you? You… I… "

Naminé bit her lip, but didn't look up; didn't say anything.

Tidus collapsed on the sofa next to Naminé, and threw back his head, covering his face with his hands. "Shit," Tidus muttered. "I am so frickin'…" Sora noticed Naminé edge away from Tidus, moving to the farthest side of the couch. Furrowing his brow, Sora tried to catch Naminé's eye. He wasn't going to demand an explanation in front of everyone, but if she would just _look _at one of them …

Now Riku walked over, but his was more of a calculated step; Sora found this far more alarming than any of Tidus' explosions. Sora stared at Riku, trying to get him to make eye contact. _Lay off_, he wanted to say. _We've already taken care of Nam – _

"Whose sweater is that?" Riku suddenly demanded, voice like a blunted knife – not enough to kill, but definitely had shaken Naminé. Amazingly, Naminé actually raised her head a bit, glanced at Sora for a mere moment, before dropping her gaze again and answering,

"A friend's. From school."

"Yeah?" Tidus jumped in, "From that prep school… _Jordan Falcon Underground_?" He scoffed. "Right, _that _is probably so popular with a bunch of sissy-boys and stuck-up chicks."

"Tidus!" Kairi snapped, smacking him on the back of the head. "_Look_, I'm really glad you guys offered – you _offered_– to go out and look for Naminé, but we found her, me and Sora took care of it…"

"_Why_, Naminé, does that sweater smell like smoke?" It was Riku's deathly quiet voice again. Kairi jumped, and Sora grimaced. He _had _noticed, but he had been planning on approaching Naminé about it afterwards… _ugh_, Riku could be such a pain sometimes.

"What?" Kairi exclaimed, and she leaned over the back of the couch to actually sniff Naminé's sweater. Turning her head to face Naminé while she was still leaning over, Kairi demanded, "Yeah, Nami… what kind of friend was this?"

"I… uh… he smokes, so?" Naminé responded, for the first time, sounding a little defensive. "I mean, it's not smart, and I've tried to tell him so many times to quit, but you know… people are stubborn like that…"

"Wait a second," Tidus interjected once again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… you just take off and _leave _in the morning after seeing some pink-haired pansy; you're gone for the 

_whole day _without a cell phone, and now you're telling us you were hanging out with some guy none of us know, who smokes, wanders around big cities and skateboards? And he gave you his _sweatshirt_? What did you have to do to get it, jeez, Naminé?" He didn't sound at all like he was trying to be cute or funny. This was, by all means, a blatant accusation.

Naminé's head had snapped up to look at Tidus, looking angry for the first time. Tidus simply gazed angrily back, and Riku, ever the watcher, simply stood back and observed with a stony expression. Sora scowled, but Naminé broke in, "Look! I'm really grateful that you were out looking for me – what if I had been in trouble? So, I mean, _thank you_, and I'm _really, really _sorry I was so stupid – it wasn't fair at all! I totally crossed the line, and I swear, I won't do this again. I – " Naminé didn't seem able to continue, so she bit her lip and stared at the wall just past Sora's head.

"Tidus, she already explained herself to us, okay? So just… whatever. Is everyone okay now?" Kairi asked, crossing her arms across her chests. No one responded, so Kairi, in an uncharacteristic display of cheerfulness, told Naminé, "Okay, so just give me that sweater, if you don't mind. I can't stop smelling smoke, and I'd rather we left it out here than in one of our rooms..." Kairi held out her hand, but Naminé shook her head.

"I'll just go change, don't worry – I can bring it out after."

"Why?" _Dammit, Riku, just get off of her case. _

"Wha-what?" Naminé replied, standing up.

"Why not just get rid of it now?" Riku leaned against the wall, regarding her carefully.

"Um, well…" Naminé looked flustered. "I… well, I'm not wearing anything underneath." This last part was said very quietly, and Naminé moved towards the door to the room she and Kairi shared.

Tidus laughed a hollow laugh. "Nice. No shirt, smells like smoke, dude's sweater, comes back late at night… makes _us _go wander around and find her while she's out doing…"

"I'm sorry! I – "

"Just get _off _of her _case_!" Sora exclaimed, standing up. "She hasn't done anything wrong – maybe a bit stupid, yeah," – Sora threw an apologetic look over his shoulder to Naminé – "but she's back, she's apologized, she's explained herself. We've all done stupid lame stuff like this… it's no – big – _deal_. Leave it; leave _her_."

Riku, unsurprisingly, simply left the main room and headed to the smaller bedroom, closing the door behind him. Tidus, however, burst out, "_Excuse me _for trying to look out for her! Do you know how many creeps there are?"

"Like you?" Kairi sneered, who seemed to be growing increasingly angry again.

"Hell yeah! Well, no, but I mean… guys way more desperate than me, who'd trick – "

"Oh… you think my sister's stupid enough to fall for some lame-ass-flirting? She shot you down, buddy, so I think she's fine."

"What?! You want Naminé to come back like this, I mean… she seems like…"

"Like _what_, Tidus? _SAY IT._"

"A… a…"

"Ugh! You're so behind the times, Tidus! You're not Naminé's – or any female in your life, for that matter – walking chastity belt or something! _Dammit_, Naminé can do what she wants, and if she wants to talk about that kinda stuff, she has _me _to ask for advice or whatever – women do _not _need men like _you _to jump and protect our precious 'virtue'! You are _such _a chauvinistic, pig-headed, hypocritical – "

"Whatever! I'm going to bed!"

"_Good!_"

And the door slammed, leaving Sora, Kairi and a mortified Naminé standing alone in the ringing silence.

"I… I'm going…" Naminé said softly, moving towards the door to the other room.

"… to bed. Good idea. And you are _so _lucky I'm mad at that idiot right now, that I'm not even gonna call mom and dad about this. We'll just pretend it didn't happen, okay?" Kairi said, handing a mug of hot chocolate to Sora, before cuddling up with her boyfriend on the couch. Sora wrapped an arm around Kairi and accepted the mug, pressing his mouth into her crimson hair. Mmm… finally. A chance to actually relax. "And… Nami? About this morning?"

"We'll, um, talk later?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Now goodnight, Nami. I'll come around later." Sora watched Naminé nod, and slip into the room.

Sora sighed, relaxing his muscles and he felt Kairi do the same. He was laying across the couch now, his legs stretched out. Kairi lay in between them, her head resting on his stomach. Grabbing the remote, Sora flipped on the TV and began mindlessly surfing through. Kairi buried her face in his navy t-shirt, and sighed,

"People are such pains." Sora pinched her. "That wasn't funny, Sora. That hurt," Kairi pouted, punching him lightly in the stomach. Sora laughed, and ran his fingers through her silky hair.

"Sorry, babe," Sora whispered. This was comfy – these couches were nearly as good, if not better than the beds. Which was, of course, part of the reason Sora opted for taking the pull-out bed here. Laughing slightly, he asked her, "Now that all the fuss is over, what do you say about spending the night?"

Kairi rolled her eyes and laughed. "Right, 'cause its just so far from 'home'." Then, readjusting herself so she could struggle with pulling out the bed, she continued, "But, hell, why not."

Grinning, Sora spread himself out on the now folded out bed. Kairi lay down beside him, one arm around his waist.

All was well. Naminé was safe and sound, the band was kicking into full gear rehearsals, there was so much to see and do, the tournament rounds were starting up… this was good. He had known there was nothing to worry about.

"Night, Kai."

Poor redhead was already snoozing, so Sora simply snuggled in close to her.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Stumbling bleary-eyed into the front foyer of their hotel, Roxas shivered. Holy _crap_, this place got _cold _at night. Man, he hoped he'd get his hoodie back eventually – he liked that one. Limited edition _Jordan Falcon_, only the greatest skateboarder, like, _ever_.

Taking the stairs – everybody knew that the bloodiest murders happened in secluded elevators, jeez – Roxas made the laborious climb to room 347. One step… two…_shit_, out of breath. Breath. And he hadn't even gone through a pack today… he… ahhh… crap. He had been doing so well, while distracting himself with befriending that Naminé-girl, he had managed to shake off the cravings that passed off (Roxas winced, feeling stupid for almost having gotten caught by Naminé). _Dammit_, Roxas was almost mad enough to pull one out right now – then he remembered the smoke detectors, not to mention the security cameras, and those handy "_Non-smoking_" signs everywhere.

Ahh… shit.

Approaching his room door, Roxas fumbled with his wallet for the key card. Clicking himself into the room with his key, Roxas rolled his eyes when he saw the lights still on but no one in sight. Figures. Killing the planet, one light switch at a time, while they were probably out partying. Dropping his wallet on the counter of the kitchenette, Roxas went over to the fridge, knowing full well Demyx probably stashed it.

Uh-huh. Oh, and look, Xiggy had even found some nooks and crannies to put his, uh, _stuff_ in.

And there was booze. Most likely Axel's doing.

With a slight wince, Roxas realized he hadn't pitched into the group fridge at all. He'd do a bit of grocery shopping tomorrow, since they'd be here for another week or so. And he'd make sure he hung out with the guys too – first Olette, now Naminé. Jeez.

After pouring himself a glass of milk and grabbing an orange, Roxas plopped on the couch. He had just found the remote (under the seat cushions, _seriously, _guys, come _on_) when the pattering of feet caught his attention.

Bare feet. The kind of children. Or _ninja-masters_.

And closer they whence came! From the bedroom, they approached… the door was opening from the room…

Tensing up, Roxas lifted the remote up, prepared to throw it. Hey, he had an orange too – but he was hungry, so Roxas put that back down. _Come on, jerk-face, let's see what _

"_Roxas_? Where have you _been_?"

Axel was standing at the door jamb, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his brilliant emerald eyes like jeweled daggers.

Roxas breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned back on the couch, putting his feet up on the small table. No crazy ninja-warriors today, thank goodness; yet still, Roxas was too exhausted to pick a fight with Axel. So he replied, "Nothing. Just out… met a friend of mine."

"That's great, you know; heaven forbid you not hang out with friends." Roxas could practically taste the sarcasm dripping from every word. Feeling a blanket of uneasiness wrap around him, Roxas managed to choke out,

"Sorry – I just… I got caught up… I'll make it up to you guys…"

"Whatever. We need to get rehearsing; actual tournament starts day after tomorrow."

Roxas felt stung by the complete shrug-off at his apology, and bitterly managed to reply, "Oh, come off it, Axel. It's not like you were doing anything productive, either, just checking out the – "

"I don't give a _shit _about who or what you've been checking out, Rox. And buddy, the party's _tomorrow_, remember? Then again, you haven't been around the hotel enough to actually know what's been going on, have you?"

"I – "

"Crap, just forget it. Just get to effing bed already so we can actually do something tomorrow – "

"Don't – don't _you _tell me what I can and can't do! I_ said_," Roxas growled, "I'm _sorry_. So just…"

"Okay! Okay! Apology accepted! Oh, how _gracious_ of Roxas to actually decide he wants to_ talk _to us! Holy shit, Rox, you just… you know what? You're already in your bed, as 

far as I can see." Axel slipped back into the room where the twin beds were, and grabbed a blanket and pillow. Chucking them at Roxas, he snapped, "Sleep tight."

"_Fine_! At least I get the TV!"

Axel didn't even dignify that with a response, instead slamming the door on the bedroom. Roxas, scowling, kicked off his shoes, threw off his belt and set up the pull-out couch. Flicking off the TV and tossing aside the orange, Roxas rested his head on the semi-soft pillow. Axel was so lame.

So dramatic.

So…

… _ugh_.

Punching the pillow a few times, tossing over between his stomach and back, opening and closing his eyes…

… _dammit_.

Kicking off the covers, Roxas sat up, tugged off his t-shirt and jeans, and laid down again, snuggling under the sheets. He had to get up tomorrow morning now, and talk to Axel in the morning. And maybe snoop on Larxene. Maybe talk to Naminé again. And all while avoiding Sora… assuming, of course, that the blondie stuck to her word.

Why the _hell _did life have to be so dramatic?

* * *

**A/N:** Aaaaand BAM! What will happen next time:-P And what is going on with Roxas and Naminé? Surely, some new plays aren't being put in teh game? Or maybe… I don't know, you'll have to stay tuned to find out! Okay, that was lame. Anyways. Thanks… if you guys like what you're seeing, drop a comment. If not, you can tell me that too. Until next time, then (which will hopefully be soon, what with the holidaze coming up and all)!

Muchos amor (sorry for killing the Spanish language),

XX – diamonds – XX


	13. ad libitum

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Wow ... it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm SO sorry it took so long to get this thing up (it's a fairly short ones, at that, too) ... but your reviews are what kept me a chug-a-lug-lugging! Woohoo! Okay. That was pretty lame. Anyways, on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** Nope.

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter_ _Thirteen_: ad libitum

* * *

The watery paint of early morning was streaked across the canvas of the beige carpet. Naminé sat at the table in the small "sitting room" area, sipping her morning tea. The different flavours had been sitting by the coffee machine, along with an "Our Compliments" note from the hotel staff. Blonde tresses still damp from her shower, Naminé was still fairly warm from the rising sunlight.

She wore a powder blue skirt that curtained around her legs, just brushing past her knees. The ruffled, overlapping layers was complimented by simple ballet flats on her feet, and a loose off-white chemise. The short-sleeved chemise hung off her shoulders and folded in a kimono-style, neckline plunging enough for her to wear a spaghetti strap underneath. Tote bag tucked neatly at her feet, Naminé glanced anxiously at the clock again.

Only a quarter past eight. He had to be here _soon _– he was always impeccable about everything. Then again, he might be late, just to snub her and show her who's in charge; worse yet, he might completely stand her up, and the others would wake up and start asking questions.

Again.

Naminé sighed, resting her now empty cup back in its saucer. Last night had been a disaster – well, at least, coming back had been. Spending time with Roxas had been kind of enjoyable – oh, who was she kidding, it had actually been a blast (once she got past the original paranoia of the guy, sheesh). Roxas had been sweet enough, talkative and even witty. And pretty cute – well, not to mention he sort of had the initial "rocker/bad-ass" persona that caused many a swoon. Smirking slightly to herself, Naminé acknowledged that the young man was probably quite popular with the ladies.

_Tick tock_. Naminé scowled at the clock as the second hand danced rhythmically around the edges. Pretty soon, she'd be dealing with another lady-killer … unless, of course, she got to him first. She could only hope he'd hurry up before –

"Are you _always _up this early?" the silver-haired teen grumbled as he blearily collapsed onto a stool in the kitchenette. He was wearing red and black plaid pyjama-pants and a loose black t-shirt depicting some band symbol. One slender hand rubbing his eyes beneath his bangs, Riku leaned forwards on the counter with one elbow. Taking a moment to seemingly collect his thoughts, Riku's eyes narrowed beneath the curtain of silver bangs.

"Why dressed so early?"

Maybe, under other circumstances, Naminé would have been miffed for being patronized. However, mind drifting back to the night before, she couldn't help but flush. One hand tightening around the handle of her tote bag, Naminé responded softly,

"I was just going to… go out for a stroll."

"Wha-wait … you're kidding me, right? After that little show you put on yesterday, you're – "

Okay, _now _she was definitely miffed. Pressing her lips together like a dam, she made sure to only let a trickle of what she was thinking out. "Riku," she began, holding her voice steady. "I'm sorry, but you can't _ground _me, and I mean…" she bit her lip. This sort of assertively-approached method was way more Kairi's strength than it would ever be hers. Quickly, she added on, "Look, I promise I'll be careful, and I'll be home _long _before dark…"

"Yeah? How long?" Suddenly, Riku didn't sound so tired anymore. He stood and began shuffling around, making himself some coffee as his eyes remained on her. Naminé wasn't facing him – in fact, she'd only shifted a little in her seat since he entered – but she knew that he was watching her.

Turning around, Naminé replied, "Like, right after lunch? Just after noon?"

Riku hadn't dropped his scowl, but didn't say anything either. Instead, the loud grinding of the coffee machine kicked in, leaving the room in an odd sort of mechanized silence. Naminé dropped her eyes from him, and turned back around. Almost half past eight.

Finally, the machine stopped, and Riku was presumably pouring himself a cup when he asked, "Just after lunch? So who are you – " He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Naminé jumped up from her seat, and scooted over to the front door, adjusting her tote bag as she went. Not even sparing Riku too much of a glance, Naminé locked eyes with him only briefly to say, "Don't worry – I'll be fine. Be back soon!". She quickly unlatched the door and slipped outside, face to face with the last person on earth she wanted to see right now.

However, unfortunately, punctual as always, the pompous asshole smirked down at her. Offering her his arm, he said loftily, "Naminé, my dear, shall we be on our way, then?"

Hating herself for both leaving them – leaving _him_ – behind, and for even allowing herself near Marluxia ever again, Naminé accepted his arm. She knew this had all been coming, after all.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Curling his toes slightly, Roxas dimly wondered why he couldn't feel anything. He could move them, and the blood was flowing all right, but they felt… _cold_. Shuddering, Roxas flipped over onto his back where he lay, and groaned. The lights were on and turning the normally dark cover of his eyes into a reddish-pink burn. Furrowing his brow, Roxas cracked open one eye.

And all he saw was searing red.

Snapping his eyes shut again, Roxas momentarily panicked. Burning red! Like blood, like guts, like fire, like…

"Roxas, man, wake up," Axel drawled, one hand on Roxas' chest. _Bare _chest – hang on, whoa, why wasn't Roxas wearing a shirt? And pants? Holy shit, no pants! Blanket, blanket!

Trying his best not to squeal, Roxas scrambled to pull the strewn blanket back over him. Once it was fully up to his neck, exposing only his (burning) face, Roxas spluttered, "_Why _are you just _standing _there while I was like, like – "

"In your boxers?" Axel wiggled his fiery red eyebrows, smirking devilishly. "Aw, come on, it's not like this is the first time – "

"Whaddya mean?!" Roxas exclaimed, further burying himself in his blanket, shrinking away from big old scary Axel. Seriously, Axel was Roxas' best friend and all, but he was the biggest creeper sometimes, jeez.

Axel gave Roxas a jab in the chest with his elbow before standing up. Rolling his eyes and stretching, Axel yawned, "I mean the last time you slept over at my house I hid a video camera in my shower, dickwad. What do you _think_ I mean?" Roxas was painfully aware of the pink tinge in his face, but he refused to dignify Axel's vulgarity. Honestly.

Axel cocked an eyebrow, and nudged Roxas again, this time with his foot. "_Roxas_, stop being such a girl. Think freshman gym class, friggin' turd." With that, Axel moved to the kitchenette and began putting the coffee pot through its paces. Roxas listened to the mechanical whirring of the machine, eyes towards the ceiling. Something seemed off… last night… why was he on the couch, again? He…

"Axel?" Roxas mumbled, maneuvering so that he was sitting up. Craning his neck around so Axel was in his sight, Roxas watched Axel pour coffee while he continued, "Um, about yesterday, look, I – "

Axel held up a hand to silence the blond, instead coming around and offering a mug of coffee to him. Sitting perched on the edge of the couch, Axel grinned sheepishly, "Don't worry about it, man, it was my problem. I acted like a total dick, huh?"

A trickle of relief ran down his spine, spreading a tingly sensation through. Sipping his drink (Roxas noted appreciatively that it was hot chocolate with a touch of caffeine), Roxas replied, "No! I just – I … I was hanging out with – "

"Dude, whatever. I don't need to hear, okay? Doesn't matter."

Roxas shifted uncomfortably, and said, "Well, today, see, I was gonna go out and – "

Axel's eyes narrowed slightly, and he took a sip from his own coffee. "Oh?" Axel said, the dull edge of his malice blade striking Roxas sorely. Roxas, having finished most of his hot chocolate, stared into the cup. Attempting to shrug nonchalantly, Roxas replied,

"Well, I just had some things to do… it's nothing big! You can come, too, it's no big deal…"

"Rox, I already had other plans – "

"Oh, well, I'll be finished really, really quick – "

"_Rox_ – "

"Honest! I just had some stuff to buy, people to – "

Axel shot up and dropped their mugs in the sink. Flipping over so that he was leaning on the counter, Axel scowled. "Okay, Rox, just be back here at like, _noon_."

Roxas, for all of the indignation of being told what to do, kept his mouth shut. Silence roamed the room as Axel slipped his coat on and stepped outside, presumably getting dressed. Roxas stood up, wrapping his blanket around him. His jeans and t-shirt lay in a neatly folded pile at the end of the couch, and he finally noticed that he had an extra blanket that had fallen off at some point in the night. Sighing, Roxas moved to the bedroom he had previously been exiled from – the sooner he was out of this hotel, the sooner he could shake off this feeling.

Axel was so _weird_.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Her hair shifted slightly in the wind, but the bucket hat she'd thrown on broke most of the cold. The flaxen tresses were flowered against her shoulder, now fully dry (granted, all out of shape), and she tossed them aside when she turned to say, "So, Marluxia, if I may so enquire, _why _are we here so early in the morning?"

"Well, Naminé, I've yet to forget your habits," the young man responded, his hair the colour of breaking dawn. Leaning back in the elegantly shaped, but still plastic, chair, Marluxia smiled wolfishly. "Always the early-riser – now if only you could keep up with the rest of the game that fast…"

Naminé scowled, but she was careful to remain passive. Instead, smiling slightly, she replied, "Marluxia, honestly. I'm fine – I just missed a few calls over the summer, all right? And besides, I'm here anyways, aren't I?"

The pensive smile that had yet to leave Marluxia's face only broadened. Quirking an elegant eyebrow, Marluxia examined his nails for some non-existent dirt. Naminé almost did scowl, had she not been keeping careful track of her own emotions. This was a waste of her time. A _total _waste – her only consolation was that nobody knew what scoundrel she was hanging out with.

At least, she hoped so.

Hopefully, Riku hadn't done something obsessive like take a mad dash and gaze out the peephole of the door once Naminé had left. Or waited at the window to see where she was going and who she was with. If he did, that would only prove he was a weirdo – Naminé was in no way, shape or form pleased. Or a little flattered. Nor did she have to bite her lip a bit to keep from giggling over supposed jealousy, and her face was _totally _not pink thinking about how flaky she seemed.

"Here you are, Sir and Mademoiselle! Your orders …" This was no fancy restaurant – in fact, they were sitting outside in a small Guado café. Everything on the menu had a touch of seafood to it (Naminé would have a note to _never _bring Sora here), and the creatures who ran the place were a strange lot. Granted, she'd seen her fair share of different races in Radiant Garden, but never these _Guado_. They were short; their skin tinged mildly blue, grey or green (much like the aquatic creatures they served); their hair was either green or blue, and always sort of _wriggly _and poking upwards; their legs short in proportion to their torsos, but their arms were rather long and kind of… _flat_. Like flippers, or something.

Either way, Naminé tried not to stare too much. Pulling her plate close to her, Naminé began tossing around the salad, not quite hungry. Her and Marluxia had been walking around for almost an hour – which was saying something, considering Marluxia normally had a chauffer to drive him _everywhere _– before coming here for lunch.

Goodness, she had better learn something useful soon, or she'd have to go back to the hotel with a guilty conscience and a heavy heart. Thinking back to last night, Naminé remembered how she ended up with the smirking slime ball seated across from her.

After Kai had dismissed Naminé to their room, and with Sora and Kai not looking like they would be getting up anytime soon, Naminé had pulled out her cell phone. Everything Roxas had said … the competition, Larxene, 'something foul being afoot'… Naminé had taken the only route open to her for information – Marluxia. She had quickly texted her ex, taking him up on his offer to… _ew_, spend _time _with him. She received a reply by the next morning – _why _Marluxia was up that late, who knew – proclaiming that he was _honoured _to spend time with such a _dear _old friend, and would she be so _kind _as to join him for a _quaint _little lunch?

Naminé tuned back into reality, and found Marluxia was talking loftily about something or rather. Dammit! Why hadn't she been paying attention?

"… and I'm sure he'd be most pleased with any of your work. You've quite the eye for detail … would you mind if I took a look?" Naminé glanced up at Marluxia, and raised her eyebrows. Huh? Her mind grasping at the small threads of his words that she had picked up on, she wove together enough to reach into her tote bag. Pulling out her sketchbook, she handed it across the table. After all these years of studying and displaying art at Radiant Garden, she found herself far less self-conscience than she had once been.

Marluxia flipped through, mostly for old time's sake. Naminé grimaced slightly when she thought of their past – the extravagant dates, the over-the-top romantic interludes, the elated praise… and yet, for all of his complexities and intricacies of character, Marluxia was about as deep as the rain hitting the pavement.

"Mmm, yes, you know, I should love to see some of your completed paintings. My father's been looking to redecorate our home, you know – " that grinded on her nerves, the way he just threw out the word _home_, like he actually knew what it meant – "and I'm sure they your paintings would sell for a great amount…"

Naminé sighed, not really listening anymore. She _really _needed to get away from his incessant, insolent chatter. Stupid sucking-up, lying, conniving…

She stood up quite suddenly, that Marluxia folded the book with his thumb marking the spot. "Yes?" he asked, eyes unreadable yet trained on the blonde.

Forcing a pleasant smile, Naminé scooped up her tote bag and responded, "I'm just going to the washroom, Marluxia. I'll be right back." Marluxia nodded and went back to absent-mindedly flipping through her book, this time starting from the back. As she turned to head to the bathroom inside, Marluxia frowned a bit and asked, "A poem, Naminé?"

Naminé glanced over, and cringed. The page was a total mess, scribbles everywhere. "No … lyrics I was working on with a friend." Marluxia's frown became even more pronounced, when he started reading out, "_Dear Craptacular – my bad, Reeking-Poo_… who's _Reeking-poo_? My my, Naminé, the caliber of your friends really has – "

"It was just a joke!" Naminé exclaimed, mortified. Her face, which had been going steadily redder, was now searing red. She leaned over to sweep the book from, but Marluxia laughed and dodged the sweep.

"My apologies, my apologies, not my place to judge…" Marluxia noticed Naminé glowering at him, so he flipped back to the middle of her book. "I'll leave it be! I'm simply admiring an artist's work, honestly, Naminé…"

Naminé, rolling her eyes, slipped away and found her way to the bathroom.

Running her hands under the cool water from the sink, Naminé sighed. _Waste _of her _time_. This whole morning had all been to help out LiD, and what does she get for her trouble? A funny tasting meal, a stuck up prick for a "date" and a headache. _Wonderful_.

She _could _have been spending the day with the band (or just with Riku, but that thought made her go slightly pink), or even sought out Roxas again, or just cruising around …

After smoothing out her hair, Naminé dried her hands on a paper towel and slipped out the bathroom door. She was the inside of the restaurant, with huge glass ceilings and walls, similar table set-ups – Naminé glanced towards the smoking section briefly, thinking maybe Roxas would be hanging out … anything to get her off this _really _bad date. Maneuvering around tables, customers and the Guado waiters, Naminé pushed open the large glass doors.

"Hey!" Naminé cried out when a hand wrapped around her wrist. What the hell? Who – "Marluxia? What are you – "

"Naminé!" Marluxia exclaimed, looking harried, and didn't stop dragging her through the crowd. "Naminé, Larxene just called – apparently I'm needed with the judges – "

"_Now_?" Truthfully, Naminé relaxed, thankful for the excuse to leave the pink-haired jerkwad. "What was it – "

"There's been a problem with one of the judges – they've fallen ill, apparently. They need the Radiant Garden representatives there, since this is an official matter …"

Naminé frowned, allowing herself to be dragged to the street. Marluxia looked a little strained – worried, even? No, Naminé knew very well he didn't give a damn about anyone save his own sorry ass. Perhaps … 'fallen ill', huh? He couldn't have … no, even he wouldn't _physically _harm another … then again, what did she know? This guy was a total ass, and she'd dumped him before finding out just how much more of an ass he could be …

"Naminé, look, we'll take this cab and I'll drop you off … where's your hotel, again?"

Naminé gave him the address as she stepped into the taxi beside him. Marluxia was in one of his super-efficient, yet totally-lazy-ass modes again; they never got him far, aside from a headache. Naminé wanted to roll her eyes, or even to pester him with more questions, but her own head was still swimming with ideas.

Within no time, Naminé was dropped off in front of her hotel, and Marluxia waved her good bye as he pulled out his cell phone. Briefly, she heard him snapping at someone – sounded like Larxene about this whole judge business – and Naminé made her way up the path. Just a quarter past noon – no big deal. Not nearly as late as last time, anyways, and she'd pretty much kept to her word.

Still though, clutching her tote bag, Naminé quickened her pace. One could never be _too _careful.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Out in the hustle and bustle of the streets, and with the putrid sweetness of MJ settling in his veins, Roxas felt way more relaxed. It was so much easier to duck into alleyways, get lost in crowds, tuck away into shops … you never knew who you could run into. Especially when you were _Roxas_, who was currently feeling like the Most Wanted man in the world.

Honestly, his nerves were completely shot (although that was slowly starting to fade too, thank goodness), and he _swore _he'd seen Larxene at least ten times (he tried following at least seven) and Sora look-alikes had appeared at like every freaking corner. Which was saying something, considering his cousin's hair defied friggin' gravity.

Then again, his ability to differentiate the sharp lines of colour contrast was _really _lacking currently. At least he'd managed to dress himself before getting high, though, sheesh.

He was wearing a deep blue zip-up hoodie, a white wife-beater underneath, and the obligatory baggy jeans. Today, too, since it was sunny but still windy, Roxas threw on a baseball cap. With the zipper only pulled half way up but with the hood up over the baseball cap, the sweater gave way to an almost off-the-shoulder, sloppy appearance. His jeans, thankfully, were snugly riding on his waist and fitted enough to counter the otherwise shoddy outfit. Mostly, Roxas' family would die of shame were they to see Roxas going out in public like _that_. Heaven _forbid_.

Just the thought was enough to make Roxas scowl – and duck further into his hood, lowering his gaze. If he ran into Larxene… well, okay, he'd promised Naminé to be on the lookout, but that hardly justified dealing with the bitchiest bitch in the whole universe of bitches –

"You know, Rox, we should probably get heading back again soon … Axel and Xiggy are gonna wanna practice, or something," Demyx offered, trailing behind Roxas. The faux-hawked teen had caught Roxas on the way out of the hotel, where Demyx had been toking out under the cover of umbrella trees and huge hedges. Needless to say, Roxas had taken his fair share of drags on the sloppily-made joint (Dem had been on his third, and numb fingers could never accomplish anything properly).

His mind still clouded by the hazy smoke that had surrounded the two earlier that morning, Roxas sighed, the sound like a gust of wind to his heightened senses. "I _told _you – Axel said noon. Be back by noon, 'cause then we're gonna have a practice and you wanna practice." The words were rolling off his tongue, which felt dry and sluggish in his mouth. His whole friggin' mouth was dry – crap, he wanted a drink. Something smooth and creamy and … _ice cream_.

What was that parlour they had gone to yesterday?

Grimacing while trying to recall the thought, Roxas pulled out a cigarette and brought it to his mouth. Fortunately, he wasn't stoned enough for his hands to be trembling (at least, he thought so … hard to be sure at times like these, though) – people were already giving him strange/pissed-off enough looks for bumping into them. A few shaky (okay, so maybe he'd been wrong) tries later, he was puffing on the stupid stick. Stupid friggin' nicotine, making him stupid friggin' want it.

Taking a moment to lean against the brick wall of a nearby building, Roxas groaned. Despite his lethargic perception, his head and heart were pounding – to make matters worse, he was pretty freaking sure he just saw a brown, spiked ball of hair. A bus had come into view, but Roxas had been _so _sure …

… shit! Holy frickin' shit!

"Dem!" Rox cried, not being able to enunciate his friend's whole name. "_Crap_! Move!" The sudden whirl around, however, did not help Roxas' situation, and he couldn't even make out where Demyx was for a moment. Stumbling slightly (and bumping into a few pedestrians along the way), Roxas nearly crashed into the fellow blond. "Demy!"

"Demy?"

"Whatever! He… _my cousin_, over there …" Roxas vaguely waved his hand in what he thought was the general direction. Dammit all, it was _so _freaking hard to get the nerves in his head working to process the information. "Cousin! Sora! You know!"

Something dawned on Demyx's face, and he nodded quickly (a little stupidly, granted). Roxas had explained back at the hotel what the situation was – well, briefly. Not that Dem needed a full run down – after three years, they knew each other well enough.

Dem, reacting pretty quickly considering the circumstances, grabbed Roxas and ducked into an alleyway. It wasn't a very long alleyway – there was just a dumpster, crap on the ground and the other side of the street, sunlight streaming in. On the other side of the street, Roxas could vaguely make out the sounds of a commotion, people shifting…

"Crap!" Dem's voice snapped Roxas' attention around. "Crap, yo, your cousin, spiky brown hair, goofy grin, and… uh… uh…" Dem squinted. "Redhead girlfriend?"

Roxas gulped, his throat itchy and dry – this musty, dark alley wasn't helping either. "Yeah, that's him …"

"Well, dude, he's coming straight this – "

"_No_! You idiot, I do _not _want any of your second-rate, cheap perfume! Why don't you try selling it to the whores you probably tuck into every night!" a sharp female voice split the dull noise of the streets. Roxas had physically _winced _– there was only _one _lady evil enough with a shrill voice like that –

"Honestly, Zexion, _must _we go to _another _bookstore … oh, move along, brat. Nothing to see here!" Larxene was standing on the other end of the alley.

"Dude! Your cousin … you definitely _don't_ wanna see him, right? 'Cause this might be a family reunion if you don't move – "

"SHH!" Roxas spat, backing away. Any minute now, Larxene would turn and glance down the alley, Roxas threw his cigarette on the ground and crushed it under his shoe, backing away. The blonde woman was standing there, arms crossed, eyes focused across the street where a large bookstore stood. She was tapping her foot impatiently, swinging her blonde hair over her shoulder, glancing around angrily in her taut and sharp suit. Any second…

" … relax, Kai, promise not to try to poke anything this time… I know! Ow! I wasn't making fun!"

"_Dude_, like, move, _now_…" Dem hissed …

… "Sora, honestly, if you had any self-respect, you'd take that stupid hat off…"

… "What are _you _looking at, woman? Keep moving, honestly, _people _…"

"DUDE!"

"_Oof_!"

Roxas gasped, the rush of blood in his head still swirling. He was sitting – no, _laying_ in the _dumpster_, with his feet hanging out. "_Tuck those away_!" he heard Demyx hiss, and he felt Demyx lean against the dumpster. Roxas, though disgusted, obliged and tucked away his feet. The dumpster wasn't too bad … they were behind a clothing store, it seemed, so mostly it was just scrap, bags of magazines, coffee cups (ewww) and … _snack _food. Roxas groaned internally and prayed nothing was old enough to cling to him.

"Buddy, you know, that's not the most sanitary place to be … you okay?"

Ah, his cousin. Always the do-gooder. Roxas squirmed a bit inside, but the sensation was rather dull against the brick wall of good old cannabis in his system. That knowledge in itself brought more guilt to Roxas, along with the fact that he was craving his not-finished cigarette, his head was pounding as he came down from his (relatively weak) high, and, well… he was sitting in a dumpster, quite frankly.

"Pssht, whatever. It's, like, my _thing_."

He couldn't tell what happened next, but after a pause he heard his cousin say, "Well, okay … just checking. Bye!"

"Wait - Sora, you can't _actually _eat that thing..." Kairi whined. "You're _going _to make yourself sick. _Again_ - "

"Okay, okay! Relax! I'll get rid of it, party-pooper..." Sora grumbled, and Roxas braced himself. Oh, shit, what the hell could his cousin have picked up that -

Ew - ew - ewwww! Why the _hell _was Sora eating ... just what was that? Groaning - the stuff had been rather warm, and landed on his chest/face area, Roxas was able to tell from the smell. His step-mother had ordered it, once, or parts of it at least, when they'd gone out to a fancy restaurant ... was that, chunks of lemon-marinated tuna tossed with ... hmmm, Mussels? Mussels and ... clams, shrimp and potatoes in a slightly spicy broth of garlic and white wine, along with ... felt like... _trofie_ coated with pesto.

Totally disgusting, especially when it was freaking _sitting _on him.

"About _time _you got back, Zexion, _honestly_, I thought I was going to die standing by this disgusting alley… the _people _that come by, honestly …"

Roxas sighed, and popped his head over the top of the dumpster, icky goo sliding off his face. Dammit all, he was gonna have to change again when he got back to the hotel. Dem was leaning against the tub, looking passively cool (stoned) and Roxas had to roll his eyes. "Did it work?" Roxas asked mildly. Demyx glanced up, and asked, mouth agape,

"_Dude_, whoa, why've you got that shit on your face? Seriously." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Are they _gone_, Dem?" You couldn't talk any sense into people that were as far-gone as Demyx, jeez.

"Huh? Obviously. Come down, sheesh, before you start to stink!" Dem giggled a bit at the word, and leaned against the dumpster for support. Rolling his eyes (well, attempting – Roxas had to stop, because it was making his head throb), Roxas crawled out of the dumpster, swinging one leg …

"Shit!"

Roxas lay on the ground of the alley, feeling utterly pathetic. A few passer-bys gave them strange looks, but Roxas couldn't care less at this point. Groaning, he reached into his pocket, pulled out yet another cigarette, and lit up. Screw it all, at this point. Everything was uphill from here.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

What the _hell_? Who was that pink-haired loser anyways? Marmalade, or something? Dammit, he would ask as soon as she came back. Seriously. Riku would just march up to her, and be like, "All right, that's it; what's with the jerk?" And Naminé would answer (he'd make sure of it), because she would know he was just worried about her safety; that was it. His entire morning of contemplation and frustration was because the last time that asshole came around, Naminé and Kairi totally blew up at each other. Riku was _just_ worried about the band; that was _all_.

Sitting on the couch with two laptops set out – Kairi's and Tidus' – in front of him, Riku clicked away at the keys in hopes of some mild distraction. They'd submitted their quota of lyrics already – thankfully – and Riku was working on mixing some of the other songs. It wasn't his forte, but he really needed something to do. It was only to his great misfortune that it wasn't working. Mind preoccupied, he was ready to just smash the two machines together in the hopes of creating a gigantic explosion that give way to a blackhole and suck the world in.

_Angry much, Riku?_

It was at that moment that the hotel room's front door swung open, and the little blonde herself slipped in. Riku glanced at the digital clock on the screen in front of him, and through his peripheral, he could see Naminé's feet scuffle by. Without raising his eyes from the screen, he asked calmly, "Have fun?"

The girl gave a start – obviously, she hadn't noticed him there. In fact, she looked pretty harried right now. Her hair was sticking up a bit, her cheeks were flushed and she looked generally annoyed. Blue eyes softening slightly when she saw him (Riku couldn't help but feel inherently pleased), she responded quietly, "It was… all right. We got cut short, though."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah – my… er, _companion_ was needed elsewhere.'

"_Companion, _huh? That uber-important Marmalade-guy?"_ Wow, very subtle, Riku. _Very_ subtle._ Silver bangs fringing his eyes, Riku glanced at the laptop he was currently on. _Expert-Tools _software was running, the audio busses and sound waves pulsing lightly, although the channels were muted.

Naminé dropped her gaze, and fidgeting slightly, she said, "How – how'd you know?"

Well, that wasn't a suspicious reply, not at all. Rolling his eyes internally, Riku attempted to look nonchalant. Off-handedly, he remarked, "I was out on the balcony. I saw you guys walking, that's all – and I mean, how many guys have _pink_ hair?"

"So… so you were _spying_?" She sounded a little angry. Riku frowned – it hadn't sounded _that_ bad to _his_ ears… maybe her anger was a little misplaced?

"No, I just _happened_ to _see_ – "

"Spec_tacu_lar timing, really," Naminé snapped , looking honestly frazzled at this point. Yup, definitely misplaced anger… but why the hell take it out on _him_? Wounded slightly, Riku retorted with equal sharpness,

"_Well_, it's not like you ever _tell_ anyone what's going on – I might as well take the _initiative_ – "

"I _don't_ need to be _baby_-sat," Naminé said quietly. She had moved so she was standing by the glass doors leading out to the balcony – eyes focused yonder, not even _looking_ at Riku. The silver-haired teen was confused, and a little angry – _she_ was the one just blowing up at random guys, then hanging out with said random guys, then missing out for awhile, then popping back…

"Well, you need _some_one to actually pay attention for you!" Riku exclaimed, shutting closed both laptops, as he shot her an icy glare. _Women_, honestly, and Kairi wanted to know why he wasn't out there "playing the field"? Scowling still, Riku continued, "You freaked out over a guy, went missing for a day just to hang with a friend, leave first thing to wine and dine with the _first_ guy – "

Naminé turned around, and for a moment, her eyes were wide – then they quickly narrowed, and Riku saw the startling resemblance to Kairi. "How do _you_ even _know_ if I was 'wining and dining' some – "

"Well, why _else_ would you buddy up with the same guy who threw you into, like, a _panic attack_ when you guys met?"

"It wasn't – "

"What else? Get together and play some flute? Some piano? Sketch a few portraits – "

She swept from the sitting area, then, slamming the door of the bedroom shut behind her with a loud _thud_. Riku swallowed, feeling immediately guilty, but he tried to push it down. He _had_ been looking out for her after all… right? Maybe she'd realize that, and come around… although… her eyes had once again been covered by her downcast head and the cascading bangs – but she had been clutching her tote bag rather hard as she had stormed past. Riku grimaced to himself, attempting to go back to his music work. But now, worse than ever, he was completely distracted.

How the _hell_ did Sora manage it?

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Who the _heck_ did that guy think he was?

With an angry sigh, Naminé collapsed onto her bed. How could he … Riku had no idea … _argh_! Punching her pillow (rather pathetically), Naminé sprawled out, tote bag resting on the floor beside her.

Why did it _always_ seem like they both brought out the worst in each other?

And who the hell was _he _to make fun of her? It didn't matter what Riku thought – her passions were hers, not ammo to use against her. What an … briefly, Naminé thought with satisfaction about all the things Roxas had to say about Riku. There was a very bitter feeling to this, though – Naminé and her stupid conscience felt slightly guilty. Partly for being so cruel to Riku – no matter how upset, she would _not _sink to his level – and partly just for thinking about Roxas. It was obvious that Riku was … well, _jealous_ – it was also obvious that he and Roxas weren't exactly best friends.

Naminé cringed, wondering what Riku would think if he found out she'd spent a whole day with the "enemy" … maybe, if they ever got back to talking normally, she'd just tell him she was kidnapped. _That _would probably be safer than saying _his _name. Not that Riku would freak out at _her _… he must've spent enough time with Kairi to know that wasn't a smart move. No, Naminé suspected he'd hunt down Roxas, and…

… Naminé groaned again, flipping over to lay on her stomach. _Roxas _– if she said _anything_, then they would know that he was here … she _promised _not to tell anyone, but Sora and Riku … _they'd want to know, wouldn't they_? Especially with what Roxas told her about Larxene's stupid little games she was playing – and Naminé had been _totally useless _to learn anything from Marluxia. Still though, she was _sure _that the jerk had something to do with it.

Here she was, giving up her time, messing up her reputation, all for the band. And Riku wasn't even grateful. Pouting, Naminé reached for her sketchbook. She needed to get this all off her mind, needed to let go …

… Whoa. Sketchbook? Naminé pushed herself so that she was hanging over the bed, and she flipped over her tote bag. Sketchbook? Oh no, no, no, _no_ … sliding to the floor, Naminé sagged. _You've _got _to be kidding me … _dammit! She must have left it behind at the café – had Marluxia been holding it in the taxi? Closing her eyes and leaning against her bed, she groaned. _No_, he definitely hadn't been – idiot just left it there in his rush. Typical Marluxia, to not give a damn about anyone but himself. Arrogant prat.

Sighing, Naminé hoped that the next patrons at the restaurant were kind enough to hand it in to the Guado who ran the place. She could go back tomorrow and check.

Oh, but if it wasn't there, and someone _took _it … Naminé could feel tears welling up. It had been such a _long _freaking day, and she had worked so _hard _on all the sketches … some of those were summer assignments! She'd have to redo them _all _if they weren't there … frustration, anger, anxiety all rattled her from the inside, and before she knew it, tears were running down her face.

What the _hell_.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Pacing around the room, Axel scowled deeply. His red mane was a little frazzled, partly from the wind outside, mostly from staying up all night worrying. Okay, so he'd over-reacted a bit with Roxas. He didn't even take the time to ask _who _or _what _the blond had been doing – then again, even now, Axel was terrified (dying) to know.

Wincing slightly, Axel glanced at the clock. Xigbar was still in the pool downstairs, flirting with the cute lifeguard in a bikini – no big deal. Xiggy knew the score, and he had promised to be up in like twenty minutes. It was almost noon – Roxas was supposed to be back by now, and so was Demyx. He had no idea where either of them were – Axel himself had taken the time off.

Cruised some bars, thought about Roxas, checked out the local ladies, sulked over Roxas, checked out some of the hotter guys, moped over Roxas …

… his life story, really.

Axel stopped pacing for a moment, and stared at the door. Dammit, his nerves were totally wrecked. His hands were shaking, and Axel was dying for a cigarette – not that he could light up in this stupid hotel room. And besides, Roxas would be back soon, then they'd have a talk and leave to practice – Axel could just smoke then. After the talk. Talking was important.

Almost as soon as Axel had started pacing again, the room to the hotel clicked open. And, as it swung open with agonizing lethargy, Axel peeked around. Roxas!

"H-hey," Axel managed to say as smoothly as he could. Okay, so he was mostly a smooth guy, but could you blame him for sometimes losing focus around the one and only _Roxas_?

"Yo," Roxas replied, throwing a shopping bag on the kitchenette counter. As he passed Axel, the redhead could smell cigarette smoke, dope, and a whole lot of other stinky fish smells that Axel wasn't so sure about. But still, to someone like Axel, the smell was heaven. Okay, Roxas could smell like anything and be like heaven, but still. Stupid kid, being stupidly wonderful all the friggin' time. Axel perched himself so he was sitting on the counter. Roxas himself had slipped into the bedroom, pulling off his shirt as he went. Axel heard the sounds of Roxas digging through his bag and the tap running - still feeling anxious, Axel poked through Roxas' bag.

Nothing exciting, just the usual … and, a music book, for the _flute_? Axel frowned. It was some classical book, the composer being some Maestro _Sephiroth_ guy … Roxas emerged, wearing a sport grey t-shirt and a deep red zip-up vest with a fresh pair of jeans. Collapsing onto the couch, Roxas leaned back and rubbed his eyes. Axel asked, "Picking up another instrument, then?"

"Naw," he said, breathing still a bit heavy. "It's just for a friend."

"Who?" Axel inquired, flipping through the book. Roxas leaned back and covered his eyes in the crook of his elbow.

"Just a friend I met up with yesterday, when I was out – " Axel felt slightly stung, that Roxas hadn't even bothered to hesitate when mentioning the cause of their fight last night (butthead) " – and I thought she'd like – "

"Who's _she_?" Okay, maybe that was more interrogative than necessary. But still, Axel was feeling increasingly on edge with Roxas' attitude. Roxas didn't particularly seem to notice, instead taking a deep, labouring breath before answering,

"A friend, Axel, Nam – "

"So you basically blew us off for some _girl_?" Axel asked, doing his best to mask in his hurt (and jealousy; can't ignore _that_).

Roxas lowered his arm, and raised his eyebrows. Roxas' eyes were pink, his breathing heavy – a tumble down from a high, no doubt. Axel tried to keep that in mind; tried to keep his empathy in tact. But still, just thinking, just _imagining _Roxas out hitting it off with some girl –

"I'm _sorry_! What does it matter, anyways? We were just hanging … "

– sure, Axel should be happy for his friend and this newfound love, but –

" … and we grabbed some ice cream …"

– but what about _him_? What about _Axel_? What about being tired of just waiting around and letting Roxas get swept up with these stupid prisses who didn't get _shit_? Didn't _know _shit about Roxas, or about anything, or about –

" … are you even _list_ – "

"Sure, Rox, whatever! Did you do the same thing with Olette, too?" Axel exclaimed, exasperation hitting new peaks. Roxas looked genuinely confused.

"What? What does this have _any_thing to do with – "

"Olette, Roxas! You spent a whole freaking day with her, and then you went off with some other chick today … how do I know if that's true? How many girls in between?"

Roxas was shocked, to say the least. Completely flabbergasted, he responded, "_What_? Who cares?! It's just – so _what _if I've been with, like, _fifty _girls since yesterday, that – "

"I can't believe you!" Axel jumped down from the counter, anger, desperation, jealousy, and an incredibly punctured heart – "Dude, you are _so _friggin' lame! Why would you _even _– "

"You're taking this _way _over the top, Ax – " Roxas stood up from the couch (albeit, a bit wobbly), glaring back at Axel. "Ax, you – "

"You're not taking this seriously enough, you – you – _you asshole_!"

"Whoa! What the _hell_?! Why – "

Axel raked his fingers through his hair, grabbing a fistful. "You just don't _get it_, huh, Rox – "

"_Holy FRIG_; would you _just_ let me finish a _friggin'_ sentence, for go – "

What Axel did next, he did with sweeping ecstasy and deep regret. It had only taken a few strides to get within _centimeters _of his face; a mere _second_ to grab Roxas' zipped up vest and drag him near; and just a single _breath_ before closing in –

Axel's lips crashed on to Roxas'.

Maybe it last only for a few fleeting seconds, for just a single moment – but to Axel that moment meant more than a heartbeat or a breath of life. It was – everything just _froze_, and he could _taste _Roxas; not the ashy cigarettes, the breath contaminated with weed, not even the coffee, but _everything_, was just _Roxas_, his tongue, his lips –

– Roxas' feet came out from under him, and they sank onto the couch –

– for one second, it felt as if Roxas pressed back, kissed his best friend back –

– but then Roxas had shoved Axel roughly off of him, and was standing up beside the couch, eyes wide. Axel flipped over on the couch to face the blond, waiting for him to say _anything_, something – to explode, to hit him, better yet, _kiss him _back …

But Roxas simply backed away, biting his slightly swollen lip. He kept his gaze locked with Axel for a moment, expression shocked and yet unreadable, before turning sharply around. Within seconds, Roxas had thrown open the door and had swept from the room, leaving the door hanging wide open.

Axel sank deep into the couch, buried his face in his hands and tried not to make a sound.

* * *

**A/N:** All right, that's it for now! Dramatic, no? Mind, its knowing that people like you guys actually wanna read this stuff that really pushes me, so make sure you review! Please? And of course, I'll always reply, as long as I've got the contact info, so feel free to make suggestions/ask questions (I'll answer as much as I can, of course). Thanks in advance, guys!

Xx-diamonds-xX


	14. Bashed

**A/N: **Holy wow… I actually managed to get the next chapter out in, like, a month (ish)! Thank you to all those who been reading and reviewing, your comments are always much appreciated! xD

Hmm… for this chapter… there are a LOT of different, multiple POVs, and it's very important to note that _everything_ is happening at the **same time** – which will explain any sudden scene changes in between and such. Just giving out fair warning so you guys don't get confused, a'ight? Cool. :-P

Other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's long, but a lot happens. Happy readings!

**Disclaimer: **I own NOTHING.

* * *

_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen_: Bashed

* * *

Running his fingers through his already awesome hair, Tidus smirked at his reflection. Hell yeah, that was one sexy beast looking back at him. _Rawr_.

What chick would be able to keep her eyes off him, with his dashing smile, gorgeous eyes and perfect abs (nicely shown off through his cute aqua button-up)? Damn, tonight's bash was gonna be spectacular. Turning around, Tidus peeked around the room to make sure no one was around. Then, carefully, Tidus checked to make sure his pants didn't make his ass look too big.

Nope. The pockets made them look nice and tight and cute. _Nice cheeks, man_, Tidus complimented himself. He gave his buttocks a nice little flex to work them out – relax, flex, relax, flex, _aw yeah_ –

"_Dude_! _What _are you _doing_?"

Tidus whirled around, squealing, hands covering his ass. Sora had just stepped into the room, and looked torn between laughing and cringing. Tidus crossed his muscular arms over his ripped chest (if he did say so himself) and scoffed indignantly, "Just making sure the goods are all in working order, man. I'm still playing the field tonight."

Sora rolled his eyes, running one hand through his chocolate spikes. Collapsing on Riku's bed, Sora said, "Whatever man, I'm ready to go and so is Kai. Hurry up."

Tidus frowned as he sorted through his bags for a good sweater. It had to match, but not match too much that made him look like a pansy; it had to look like he put effort in, but not _too _much effort in … like dressing was naturally easy to him, thus, it was no effort in this – something Sora said rung a bell, and Tidus asked, "Wait, what's with the R-meister? And Nami-mami?"

Sora gave him a funny look, "Nami-mami? That's a little weird, man – "

"No way! Haven't you ever heard those exotic lovers? It's always, 'papi, hold me' and 'mami, I want you' … you know! C'mon!" Tidus exclaimed, finding the perfect coat. Navy blue with aqua and gold stripes running a diamond along the coat – nice and light, but warm enough that he could hand to a damsel in distress …

"Sure thing, _T-dog_, but they don't want to come. Naminé came back and is moping in her room about her sketchbook, apparently she left it at a café she went to, and Riku is _mulking _over … well, you know."

Tidus flashed Sora a grin through the full length mirror in front of him, and Sora furrowed his brow. "Where'd that mirror come from, anyways – our room doesn't have a full-length one …"

"_Duh_, Sora, look," Tidus sighed, and proceeded to fold the mirror away into thirds, then pulled out a leather covering that could have passed for a classy day planner. Tucking the mirror away, Tidus turned around and gave Sora a million-watt smile. "Always prepared for the worst of times, buddy. What would you do without me?"

Sora smirked. "Well, the amount of time _you _spend getting dressed … you definitely make me and Riku feel more manly, that's for – ow!" Sora rubbed his stomach where the packed-away mirror had hit him, and pouted. "Jerk."

"Dickwad," Tidus grumbled, as he pulled out a bottle of hairspray. Expertly holding his comb to flare out the edges of his hair, he managed the comb and bottle combination with ninja-like expertise. After he was finished, he checked his hair in the hotel-provided dresser mirror, and sighed lovingly. He really was _hawt_. Like, the word needed to be respelled for him, he was that fantastic.

Spinning around, Tidus glared at Sora, who looked as though he was trying not to laugh. "_Hmph_," Tidus breathed as he walked out, slamming his bedroom door behind him. Some guys were _so _immature. Stepping into the main room (Sora followed, now outright howling with laughter), Tidus spotted Kairi.

Kairi was dressed in a white denim skirt that went halfway down her thighs, with a dressy pink spaghetti-strap shirt. Upon seeing the two, she squealed and raced towards them. Linking one of her arms with one each of theirs, just before they left, Kairi called out, "You guys _sure _you don't want to come?" No answer. "Nam? Rik?"

"No thanks, sis," from Naminé – from Riku, on the balcony with his guitar, nothing. All was well, then! Tidus opened the door, and the three slipped out into the hall, and made their way down to the beach, where the opening ceremonies would begin. It wasn't a requirement that the whole band be there; it was really just a chance to party with other bands and let the head honchos talk.

Tidus was going for the ladies; Kairi, for scouting out competing bands (and dancing, come on); and Sora, for befriending fellow musicians (big surprise). Riku, being an anti-social, agoraphobic freak, remained safe and sound in the hotel, and Naminé, feeling weepy over a few doodles, stayed behind too. Psssht, losers.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

The crowd was starting to get frantic, and people were pressing against one another to see the stage. The sky was dark, and the beach was lit with numerous lamps, light-chains and people's glow sticks. And lighters. Olette took a deep breath before walking past a particularly dead group that were puffing on smokes – she tried not to gag. The last time she'd been consistently around _that _smell was when she had been going out with Roxas, in fact, it only smelled right near him. When they'd hung out together … she hadn't minded nearly as much. In fact, she was pretty sure she was willing to get used to the smell again if it meant spending more time with the blond bombshell.

She was wearing jean quarter-lengths, folded at the bottom, with a t-shirt tied in a knot at her side and flip-flops. She was no musician, no band mate or even a groupie, for that matter, but no one particularly cared. The more people that came to this Opening Bash, the more publicity, and that could only be a good thing.

Finally, her attention was brought to the stage when someone stepped up to the microphone.

"_Ladies and gentleman_, and, well, everyone in between!" Olette smiled slightly, watching the man speak. "We've been waiting for_ever_ for this moment … we've been shopping, partying and _rocking out _while waiting for the games to begin! Am I right, or am I right?" the man roared into the crowd. The crowd cheered in response, howling and whooping. "Well," the man began, and there was a sharp feedback into the crowd. No one seemed to care, but Olette winced slightly. "I'm here to tell you _it's on_ – you all know what I mean. The judges are ready, your tournament schedules have been made and are being handed out …" the man continued to give out details that the bands probably cared about.

Olette, however, bored with the small stuff, began flitting through the crowd. Maybe some of her local friends would be nearby, or maybe, just maybe, she'd run into Roxas again …

She must have been walking around for a good ten or fifteen minutes, because the crowd suddenly exploded around her. There was an enormous amount of infectious cheering, and a glance towards the now empty stage told her the party was on. Some well-known bands like _Blue Day_, _Schizophrenia!_ _At the Ballroom _ and even _Three Windows Down_ cycled through, playing. She wasn't a big fan of any of those, but hey, the music got the crowd going. Dancing, laughing, cheering, drinking, smoking, even puking … Olette only just dodged one particularly amazing projectile.

After moving through, Olette found that a wet bar had been set up on one side of the beach. The territory was significantly rowdier, containing mostly the druggies, the drinkers and the more outrageous dancers.

"Hey, pretty babe, wanna dance?" a hand on her arm accompanied the request.

Olette ignored the jerk and yanked her arm away from him – some people, _honestly_. Glancing around, she saw nothing of particular interest when she spotted it – _him_. He was taking a drag on his cigarette, a glass in hand. Olette, while a little wary of the group he was with, started fighting through the crowd towards him.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Naminé was slightly heart-broken, to say the least.

She'd spent the past several hours in her room; having moped, cried a little, drank the coffee that Kairi had brought her, moped some more, then wished that she could leave the room. Goodness, was she ever _exhausted_. The bash was starting, and they'd all tried coaxing her into coming ("It'll be _good_ for you, Nami!" Kairi had ventured enthusiastically.) _Yeah, right,_ Naminé thought. She'd refused, and even 

though everyone was probably thinking she was being over dramatic, there was _no way_ she was going to go out and party – that just wasn't her way of "letting loose" (as Tidus had put it). If anything, events like that just stressed her out to no end.

Not having her sketchbook to escape into didn't help either. She'd passed the time idly, and when she looked out her small window now, she could see the strobe lights from the Bash. Inherently loud screaming and cheering came from the streets, and Naminé nearly winced when she heard the heavy bass of the bands pound the air.

She noticed that night had fallen, with a few wisps of the sun's rays remaining over the horizon. Kairi and them must have left by now – thank _goodness_, because she was getting sick of being cooped up in her room…

… _Well_… she could've left sooner… but she didn't really want to face _him_. Sure, she was being immature, but why should _she_ give in? Kairi would be proud of that one for sure. Okay, so maybe Naminé had some things that she _should_ apologize for… after all, accusations were thrown and caught from both parties…

Naminé sighed. She never imagined that she'd have to deal with all of _this_ on top of her other mess. Wasn't this supposed to be a vacation for her? A kind of getaway? _Of course not_, she realized. As clichéd as it sounded, she could not run away from her problems.

_Stop it,_ Naminé scolded herself. Rubbing her face, she finally decided to take leave of the room. Grabbing her waterbottle to refill, she set out into the quiet hallway, and towards the kitchenette –

– only to stop dead in her tracks. Apparently the hallway wasn't so quiet after all.

She could hear music playing from the sitting room area. The tune sounded _very_ familiar, chiming like the waking bells of dawn in her memory. _Where…?_ Naminé carefully tip-toed towards the room, and her heart drummed against her chest as she got closer to the sound… recognizing it as…

… an acoustic guitar.

And singing. Or rather, humming, since it was so quiet, and barely audible.

Naminé blinked twice. There was only person who could be doing that – unless, of course, some mad idiot managed to break into their hotel room, and randomly started to play in the middle of their room, to which Naminé would have to call security – after beating the idiot with some sort of bat or something of course, and then –

"Naminé?"

She froze. Like a chocobo caught in headlights.

She didn't realize that she'd walked into the sitting area unawares. Her face quickly flushed with colour when it dawned on her. Hiding her eyes through her bangs, she could see in her peripheral that the guitarist/vocalist was sitting atop the backrest of the couch, instrument poised on his lap. His headphones were in, plugged into the guitar, and a computer had been set-up.

Tides of embarassment quickly washed over her previous anger. _Oh no…_

"Rik – I-I'm so-sorry. I didn't mean-mean to interrupt – " She saw that Riku was removing his headphones, and quick as a flash, she turned on her heel.

"Naminé, wait."

Unsure of what to do, she halted. Rubbing her shoulder, she turned back around, and caught aqua eyes staring intently back at her.

Fiddling with the strings of his guitar, Riku swept his gaze around the room, before deciding to settle them on the instrument in his hands.

"Didn't want to go join the party, huh?" Naminé bit her lip. What did he…? Slightly confused – and dazed – she rubbed her arm awkwardly. A retort had been at the tip of her tongue, but her nerves tied it, and she answered with a quiet,

"N-no." She looked up to see that his gaze was once more upon her. Her neck prickled, and she fought down another wave of blush. _Ugh_, wasn't she supposed to be mad at him, or something? But from _his_ quiet, and rather gentle, tone, it didn't seem like he was. When Naminé didn't say more, he nodded his head lightly, before going back to strumming his guitar.

Um, did she miss something?

Silence passed between them, and Naminé continued to scratch her arm absent-mindedly. Notes continued to fill the air, raiding her senses, and it was all she could do from biting her lip off. But it was in that instance that lightning struck Naminé, and the memory of the song exploded behind her eyes. Wonder filling her expression, she exclaimed,

"Oh! You can play _Hades' Fifth Sonata_?" Riku's fingers froze over the fingerboard, and he eyed her quizzically.

"Yeah, it's the only few songs that I know of," he explained, shifting his eyes for a fleeting moment, "but I prefer to play it in D major."

Naminé was stunned, to say the least. She didn't think _Riku_ would know any classical pieces! Uncertainly, she asked, "_Really_? You know who he is?"

Riku laughed. "Yeah, why not? It helps to pick up classical pieces, you know. Adds a bit of… challenge to the routine." He shrugged. "This one's not too hard, though. Why are you – ?"

Instead of answering Naminé swiftly turned around, and began searching the room. "What are…?" he began to ask, but Naminé found it – her flute case. Quickly, she pulled it out, and began putting the pieces together. She couldn't believe it – she just _couldn't_ believe that Riku would know _this_ song.

Placing the delicate, silver pipe to her lips, Naminé began to blow. Automatically, her fingers moved over the holes as she had taught herself to, a song that had taken her _weeks_ to learn. The notes came easily now, dancing with the delicate feet of an experienced artist. The smooth brass as her stage, Naminé had performed this song too many an audience. Beginning with a high tenor, the song gracefully dipped into a deep baritone sound, reverbrating through the pipe, sending tingles down her fingers. Never had she come to love something so much.

New sounds suddenly entered, and Naminé started, momentarily forgetting that she was playing. To her surprise – and immense pleasure – the platinum-blond teenager was accompanying her with his guitar. _Riku_. He must have heard that she'd briefly stopped playing, because he glanced up through his fringe, as he still played, and flashed her a smile at her surprised expression. She couldn't help but smile back, and replaced the flute against her lips.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

What exactly was going on, Roxas wasn't sure. His head was spinning, his blood was pounding, but frigging _hell_, at least he wasn't _thinking_. From the moment he had left the hotel room to when he finally got to the bar (a wet one, thankfully), those damn _thoughts _wouldn't leave him the hell alone.

Everything, from the churning cauldron of thoughts about Naminé and Olette, mostly confused, kinda guilty; the deep net of anxiety Larxene and Sora had pushed him into; the strangling rope that Axel had thrown around him, _that _was everywhere – his hair, his skin, his lips, his tongue …

… No, no, _no_! _Not _that train of thoughts! What the hell was Axel's problem, anyways? Just, like, outta nowhere, plants one on him, like… _ew_! No! Roxas did _not _do that kind of stuff … where had that come from, anyways? Why the hell was Axel all over Roxas anyways? Unless … unless … _argh_!

That train wreck of thought was what got him here, on a whole plane of reality. Damn, somewhere between the shit he'd gotten off of Xiggy, the booze that he'd easily gotten from the bar (the bartender was like seventy, or something, all Roxas had to do was gruff up his voice and the alcohol was pouring) and the cigarette, Roxas was feeling more than a little lost. Mind, he had already reacted quickly to the weed, and the alcohol was pushing him to new lengths while providing a strangely familiar footing.

So he was feeling rather dizzy when someone tapped his shoulder and asked, "Roxas?"

Roxas turned around slowly (not a good idea, the world was already spinning) – and saw a brunette nearby. His vision was blurring in and out between total Gaussian blurs and normal perception. Not to mention the distortions of sound (was that music? Or a machine?), colour and size … what the hell. Honestly.

Steadying himself by putting one hand on the brunette's shoulder, he tottered a bit and then leaned in to study her face. "Olette?" he asked, and he thought he saw the girl nod. Damn, she was pretty – that might have been because she was the only thing he could see right now, being so close and all. Hang on, crap, too close for social comfort or something, right? Roxas attempted to back away, and only teetered and collapsed against a palm tree, sloshing some of his drink around.

"Roxas? Roxas … you okay?" Olette asked distantly, coming in towards him. Roxas focused on the wobbly ground (_dammit, stay friggin' still_), and when he felt somewhat steady, he slowly raised his head and looked at her. Jeez, it'd been so long since they'd been together. And she was so pretty and smart and so nice … isn't this how they met, back at school, or something? At a party, she'd rubbed his back while he puked his guts out into a toilet bowl … damn. The details weren't coming to mind …

"Right, Roxas, that's right," Olette replied, rubbing his head kindly. Huh? Wait … with a groan, he realized that he had been saying all of his thoughts out loud. Feeling stupidly embarrassed, Roxas took another sip of his cocktail – ow. The sudden flood to his system required a few drags on his cigarette to relax his shaking hands. _Dammit_, he needed the high to kick in already, not the crappy launch time. Roxas sank to sit on the beach, leaning against the palm tree. Olette hunkered down beside him.

"Roxas," she began tentatively, audios and visuals swimming in and out of focus. What had Roxas mixed into his drink, again? "Roxas, honey, I think you need to slow down. You're a little bit in over your head, huh? You need to lie down – "

Roxas cut in with a bark of laughter, losing all previous trains of thought. Taking a long drag on the almost torched cigarette, Roxas sighed in contentment. Smirking slightly, he asked Olette, "Yeah? Wanna lie with me?"

"What?"

Roxas frowned. He had thought he had enunciated okay – he wasn't _that _wasted, not _yet_. Opening his mouth, he was about to repeat it when Olette cut in, "Oookaaay, Roxas, seriously, you need to relax – "

"Relax? Man, Olette, I had, like, the shittiest day ever, I – " Roxas hiccupped here, and groaned. Slumping forwards, he felt Olette rub circles gently on his back. He wasn't sure why, but the image of falling into an icy cold pond was suddenly thrown over him, and Roxas sat upright again. Olette, alarmed, asked,

"Roxas?" His name seemed to be her new favourite word; not that Roxas minded. It sounded nice and sweet and rolled off her tongue with a fluidness that Roxas _knew _his drunk tongue couldn't manage right now. He felt her grip his shoulder, and he wobbled slightly, gathering his thoughts to speak, when she said again, "Rox?"

Something triggered in Roxas' head – _crap_, no, no nicknames right now. No buddy-buddy behaviour, buddies, band, _Axel_, oh shit … Roxas bit back a moan at the horrible ghost train that was running through his head. He could hear the chug-a-lug-lug clear as a bell, and _honestly_, it needed to _go_, he needed a _detour_…

A new thought occurred, silencing all the others. Lifting his head to meet Olette's worried gaze, Roxas sipped his drink, then croaked, "Olette, I think I'm dying here."

"You are _not _dying, you're just feeling crappy. Relax."

"No, you don't understand – since, like, a few days ago, or something; when me and you were like …"

"Hanging out?" she supplied anxiously. Roxas could tell he had her attention now, and she leaned in closer to decipher his slightly slurred speech.

"Yeah," his voice was husky and his words broken. "Yeah, just … everything's been so weird since then, I can't stop thinking about …" Oh hell, oh _frigging _hell, now he was in for it. He wasn't exactly lying, but he was on a roll, gonna do something stupid and now he couldn't stop …

He flipped his cigarette butt to the ground, and brought that (somewhat trembling) hand to her waist. He felt Olette tense at his touch – it had been a while, now, hadn't it? Olette was saying something, but Roxas could listen to her and his thoughts at the same time.

Meeting her anxious expression with his own (unreadable? wobbly? stony? love struck? What the hell was his body doing, anyways?), Roxas slid the hand up to cup her face. Pulling her forwards ("Roxas, I don't think – "), Roxas captured her lips as best he could in his current state of mind. Olette tensed for a bit, in fact, she bit down gently on his lower lip, but Roxas tugged her closer with his one hand.

She relaxed for a moment, and Roxas managed to somehow find control of his tongue, and he was about to press forwards, his hand slid back to her hip, and – "Roxas?" she had pulled back gently, one of her hands caressing his face gently. "Roxas, look, you're totally wasted, you know that, right? Rox, you listening?"

Roxas groaned slightly, sagging against the tree. Dammit, he had been so close, he could have – she just had to – "Yeah, yeah, I know," Roxas gasped, struggling to stand up again. When he staggered, Olette moved to wrap her arms around him and steady him, but he pushed her away. Bitch. Okay, somewhere in his mind, he realized he was being unfair, but screw that. Maybe he didn't feel like being fair – life sure as hell wasn't being fair with him.

"Roxas, I don't care what you think, okay?" Olette began, the hurt obvious in her voice. "You can't – look, whatever's wrong, maybe you should just figure it out and do something about it for a change, huh?" She sounded angry – ah, crap. He hadn't called her a bitch out _loud_, had he? Crap, did he? He attempted to run through his short-term memory, but even that wasn't currently functioning.

"You always do this to yourself, babe," she whispered, leaning into him for a moment, arms around his chest. She rested her head against his chest, and for a minute, Roxas could hear his heart hammering away – was that the booze? The weed? Any-friggin'-thing else? _Oh, please, let it be something else_ … "Remember? I can't … I'm not dealing with it anymore, okay? You need to …." She choked on her words for a minute; Roxas wanted to tell her to hurry up, he was losing focus, fast. " … do what you want. Just …"

Whatever she said, though, Roxas didn't hear. A sudden, vile urge was upon him, and he wrenched himself free so that he could hurl it up – _ew, ew, man …_

The vomit had stung his throat, the acid had burned his stomach and eyes, he lumbered backwards, dropping his drink, and groaned again. His whole _body _was churning, everything was hurting … Olette was standing in front of him, and for a minute, the whole image of her wobbled and shook – but she was standing still. So freaking still. And her eyes – Roxas didn't have to be sober to understand that look. That terrible, crushing, look, so downcast, so _pitying_, so …

"_Nice_, man! Dude! This guy totally puked, and it went, like, _six feet_!"

"Awesome!"

"Yo, somebody, get him another drink! Try it again, buddy, c'mon!"

"Friggin' spectacular, shoulda seen it …"

Roxas turned his head briefly when another, bigger, glass was pushed into his hand. It was filled to the brim with a thick amber liquid, a lemon hung onto the rim for dear life and all Roxas had to do was reach into his pocket to make the drink _extra _potent … wait, wasn't he supposed to take care of something else? Wasn't he, like, avoiding something?

He glanced around, and there was no one but the laughing, cheering crowd around him. Shaking it off, Roxas stumbled into the middle of the crowd, washing down the taste of puke in his mouth with the bittersweet, pungent cocktail scorching his throat as it moved.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

When they ended their session – Riku finishing up the harmony on his guitar, Naminé stood in silence. Riku only quirked a brow, and naturally, colour brushed her cheeks, so she averted her eyes. Thoughts raced through her head, and finally, grasping one, she said in a rush,

"Um… th-that was the song I had to play for my final exam. At the end of the year. That's when finals were." _Stupid_. Colour continued to etch her face. She looked up to see that Riku's gaze had never wavered.

"How'd you do?" Okay, so he ignored the idiot babbling. Following through, Naminé shrugged, toying with the flute in her hands.

"Good, I guess. I'd practised for _weeks_ – I'd really wanted to make – " Naminé stopped, her words dying in her throat. Of _course_ it would come back to this. She'd set herself up, and she winced at the realization.

"What?" Riku prompted, his aqua eyes searching. "Wanted to make what?"

Naminé licked her lips, hesitating. She could feel the quiet tension in the air, the stilled waiting, and she knew, just _knew_ then, that if she chose not to answer, they would go back to where they were several hours ago. Realizing she couldn't miss the opportunity, her pulse quickened, and she breathed out,

"I'd wanted to make Ansem proud." She couldn't meet his eyes. Quickly as she could, she placed the pieces of her beloved flute back into its case, moving away from the couch (of which she had _not_ noticed that she'd shifted towards), and headed towards the kitchenette – she _really_ needed that glass of water now. She'd only taken a step, when he called out,

"Wait." A glance behind told her that the older teen was stepping off the couch, placing the guitar carefully on the table. Naminé continued heading into the kitchenette, and hearing his footsteps, he was quick to follow. She immediately pulled open the nearest cupboard from the sink, reaching up with effort to grab a glass from the shelf, when Riku beat her to it. Clueing in, he went to fill the glass from the filtered tap.

"You didn't have to do that," Naminé argued uselessly, as he handed her the glass. She knew what he was doing though, and she felt the small weight in her stomach. She sipped her glass, carefully, her eyes wandering, while Riku leaned against the counter, his hands resting behind him. A few minutes of silence passed between, Naminé wondering what she should say, when he solved the problem for her.

"So… who _was_ this Ansem guy, really? He has to do with this competition, doesn't he? He – "

"He was the Headmaster of the Academy."

"Oh." Riku blinked, and then added, "_Was_?"

Naminé sighed, placing her now empty glass into the sink. She glanced over at him, and replied, "Yes, _was_. He – he was the one who gave me my flute. He helped me pick my second major."

"Ah." Naminé was walking out of the kitchenette now, and Riku followed. "So…?"

Her voice quiet, she answered stiffly, "Headmaster Ansem… passed away in early June." Her heart fell heavy as she swayed over the topic. It really didn't seem like this was _ever_ going to go away. She found a spot on the floor near the sofas and sat down, drawing her legs up to her chest. It'd be pointless to go to her room now…

Sitting down beside her, he let one leg stretch out, while the other curled beneath it. He was staring at the coffee table when something flickered across Riku's face – realization, perhaps – because in the next moment, he was saying, "He never heard your final exam, did he?"

Naminé flinched, and she had to look away. Her breathing was shallower than before, and her eyes were getting sore. _Haven't I been through this enough?_ Sadly, she shook her head, her feathered blonde hair swaying across her face.

"Naminé…" A hand had enclosed over one of hers, and she took in the warmth of it. Her eyes were itchy and tired, but she fought the tears. She would _not_ break down here, not in front of him… she _couldn't_…

"He was a good person, really. A great person, in fact. He – he was always looking out for us, and he always seemed to know what was going on… he always smiled… he had so many wrinkles from smiling so much…" Naminé's voice grew wistful, but it, too, was starting to get dry. "He… it's just been a hard loss. He passed away… " – here, her voice wavered – "a few weeks before the breakup…" Naminé sighed. Reliving this was just… "hard. The last month of school was too much."

She felt his thumb rub circles over the back of her hand, and she couldn't help but look at him. She was surprised though, to see that he wasn't looking at her, but at something in front of him, his gaze lost on the wall. It was a moment before he blinked, and said quietly,

"You know, Naminé… I know what it feels like. To lose someone, I mean." She searched his face carefully, squinting her eyes, when he turned to catch her gaze, casting his own subdued aquamarine eyes on her. Hesitantly, supposing who it may be, she asked,

"Your mom?" He sighed, rubbing his face with his other hand, before nodding,

"Yeah. My mom."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Reaching into the giant cooler, Sora dug around for a bottle of water. He had been dancing with Kairi for a good hour or so, slipping between slow songs and upbeat songs. Most of them he could handle, but then 

Kairi wanted to bust out some of the swing moves that they'd learned (from last summer, Kairi had forced him to take the course with her) and Sora had nearly thrown out his back.

Slumping into one of the scattered lawn chairs, Sora watched Kairi continue partying with a few friends she'd made. Dammit, women were just naturally more flexible or something – _Kairi_ hadn't nearly strained every muscle in her body doing a twist-esque move.

She was dancing still, pretty as ever, with the three other girls they'd met at the café – Yuna, Rikku and Paine (Sora just couldn't remember which one was which). Tidus was no where in sight, which was too bad – Sora was pretty sure the blond would have been keen to flirt with any of the three. They were sweet enough (except for Paine, who, honestly, scared Sora a little) and definitely pretty – but ah well, Tidus' loss. He had popped off to go grab drinks, and had yet to return. Probably distracted by the first hottie he saw, honestly.

Kairi glanced in his direction, and shot him a broad smile, beckoning him to come. Sora shook his head and shrugged, rolling his shoulders. He motioned that he was going to walk around – Kairi pouted a bit, but eventually just shrugged back and waved. Sora sighed – thank goodness. If she had demanded that he dance some more, he would have broken his leg or something on purpose.

Getting up, Sora began to weave his way through the crowds of people. Mostly people were singing along drunkenly to the bands, dancing, smoking or just plain drinking. Ducking in between the shadier crowds, Sora shook his head to himself. He himself didn't drink – not that he had a problem with other people doing it around him. He knew that once Tidus returned, he, Kai and probably the other three would indulge in a bit of alcohol – not enough to get shit-faced, but enough to 'loosen up'.

On the other hand, neither Riku nor Sora had ever really touched alcohol; okay, Sora had a little when his mom pulled out the wine for fancy occasions, but Riku totally abstained. Then again, with his mom going out like she had … it would seem pretty insensitive if Riku _did _drink – Sora still remembered the expression on his friend's face at the graveyard, the day of her funeral. When Riku had growled in frustration, later, seething over alcohol and stupid, reckless drunks, and sworn to never _touch _the bloody stuff, Sora had agreed too. Partly because, he supposed, he still admired Riku enough to take his word on _anything _really, and partly because Sora himself had known Riku's mother rather well …

Grimacing slightly, Sora tried not to wander too much in the negative past. What was done was done – sighing, Sora stepped around a couple that was going _way _overboard with the whole PDA thing. _Wait … where am I going, again_? Frowning slightly, Sora turned around. Okay: beach, his hotel was visible from here, Kai had been down, closer to the stage … he was pretty much on the other side of the beach, at this point.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"It was like any other day."

They could hear the sounds of traffic below them, horns blaring at the road blockages. The sky had turned a montage of starlit indigo and murky purple, fading with the long-gone sun. The two had decided to step outside on to the small porch, curtains trailing after them as they had left the door open.

Riku stood, guarded, as he leaned against the railing with his elbows. Naminé, however, had chosen to sit in one of the small wicker chairs, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

"I'd come home from school… just like any other day… it was me and Sor in my house – just like any other day… dad was out, like expected…" Riku sighed. "Yup… nothing seemed out of the ordinary…"

"_What's to eat?" Sora asked, yanking open Riku's fridge after throwing his bag half-haphazardly across the room. The silver-haired boy shrugged a shoulder, settling his own bag down in a corner._

"_Ice cream?" he suggested, eyeing the stupid way Sora had thrown his bag._

_Sora's eyes lit up. "Sweet!" he cried, dragging a chair up to the fridge, being too short to reach the freezer. "Ice cream, ice cream, we all scream for ice cream!"_

_Sora turned and grinned. Riku only rolled his eyes._

"No one would've guessed," Naminé said quietly. Riku nodded in reply, his gaze, unblinking, sweeping over the city lights. Memories etched into the air around him, and the world fell silent before him. He clenched his jaw – he knew that the small blonde was watching him carefully, not that he particularly cared – and fiddled with the paper bunched up in his hand. Lyrics he'd disposed of, and was now shredding absent-mindedly. He didn't care that the little fragments he tore off floated towards the ground, like snowflakes, and littered the ground.

"It was so many years ago, Naminé, but it feels like, like _yesterday_, or something. I was only ten, then." He took a deep breath, never letting his gaze waver. "That day hadn't really been huge… it was pouring though…"

_Riku glanced up at the sky through his window, and saw the grey clouds settling in over the mainlands. Eyeing them warily, he said,_

"_Hey Sor –"_

"_Dude! Pay attention – you're getting creamed!" The kid cried, and Riku realized he'd stopped in mid-play, his controller hanging uselessly in his hands. Hitting the pause button just as Sora had managed to pull off a sequence of moves – "Hey!" – he tried again,_

"So_ra, don't you think you should go home? It looks like it's going to rain."_

"_Huh?"_ _Sora glanced over, and sure enough, the first few pellets hit the window. "Aww man! _Just_ as I was about to kick your butt!"_

"…The rain… it was awful, and I remember being mad afterwards since I couldn't go out and play or something. I mean, what kid liked rainy days, huh? And then…"

He rubbed his face then, and he heard Naminé shift. He was relieved when she didn't do anything else.

"… My dad called home, that day, from work," his voice continued, "He… I think he said something about not being able to come home in time for supper, and he was supposed to bring some groceries home for dinner that night." His voice had a hard edge to it, a sharp inclination now.

"He always did that, you know? Last minute, rush-rush kind of stuff – just drove my mom _crazy_. I mean" – here, Riku raked his fingers through his hair – "don't get me wrong, they loved each other and all, but it was such an annoying habit… anyways, I dunno. My mom had to get in the car during this awful weather, and she left to go pick up what ever it was…"

_Drawers opened and cupboards slammed shut as his mom busied through the kitchen, a phone resting between her ear and her shoulder._

"_Of course, of course, just come home on time, all right?" A laugh. "All right, see you then." Her slender frame hurried past him then, towards the stand beside the TV, and she grabbed her purse. Digging through it, she said gently,_

"_Riku, honey, I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" _

"_This again? Can't dad pick it up on his way home?" His mother laughed, and his own aqua eyes sparkled back at him._

"_Sure short-stuff, if you want dinner an hour late." Riku's stomach growled then. She laughed again. "I think someone's tumbly is getting rather rumbly, hm?" _

_Riku only rolled his eyes, and his mother winked, soft brown strands falling into her eyes. She began heading towards the door, swinging the bag over her shoulder. "Gosh, look at that rain." A sigh. "Okay, kiddo, I'm out." With that, she leaned over and planted one on his forehead._

"_Ew, mom!" Riku furiously rubbed at his forehead, and she only ruffled his hair one last time, before hearing her footsteps echo through the hallway, and the door slam shut behind her…_

There was a hand on his shoulder.

"… I think, I think… I was home alone, since my mom had been in such a rush, and, and, _hours_ had passed, I swear. _Hours_. I think I was asleep or something, because apparently the phone had been ringing, and I didn't hear it –"

Riku swallowed, and the hand moved to tighten around his bicep. He could feel the rain all over again, the wind, the cold, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Somewhere, he heard a door slam…

"_Riku! Riku, are you there?"_

"_Over there, mum!"_

_Stirring, he felt someone wrap their arms around him tightly –_

"… and the next thing I know, we're whipping out the door. Sora's mom put me in the back, and Sora was beside me, his hair and face and clothes soaking wet, and his eyes were so wide. Shit, I woke up really fast then – no one's ever carried me since I was really, really little – and…"

Riku opened his eyes. "And then we were there. The white – it hurt my eyes – everything hurt my eyes. I – I just remember being in the waiting room, and my dad, my _dad_, saw me, saw each other, and I _knew_ something was wrong. He tried talking to me, about how my mom –" Riku choked a bit, but he kept going, "– but I don't think I was really listening – I didn't really hear a word. The doctor came out and talked to my dad…"

_He could feel someone's arms around his neck, holding him tightly from behind_. _Sora had a grasp on one of his hands, and his eyes were looking everywhere at once, his voice kept pounding at his mom – "What's going on? Why are we here?"_

_The doctor came out, minutes later, and everyone looked over – _

"_I'm sorry."_

_Sora's mom buried her face in his neck, and cried. Sora, seeing his mom, cried too. But he wasn't really sure why._

_Riku did nothing. He didn't understand at all._

"Riku…"

"They said she'd been hit by a bunch of kids in a pick-up truck. The driver had been totally wasted, he – he went racing through a red light in an intersection, the same one my mom...

"They collided. Died on impact. The driver – on the other side … they said he was okay, but … you know, the way they hit her car, one of his friends died too … everything was just – so much – it was so _hard _to handle, so much _death_ … there was nothing the doctors could do…nothing at all. She was gone." The pieces of paper had long since left his hand.

He felt something soft brush his shoulder. Finally tearing his eyes away from the cityscape before him, he glimpsed down to see that Naminé was lightly resting her forehead against his arm, the strands of her blonde hair tickling his skin.

"I'm sorry."

Riku shook his head, and let out a humourless laugh. "Don't be. It – it happened years ago, right? I mean –"

"Riku."

He sighed. "I know." Naminé pulled back her head then. They could hear the bash in the distance now. Riku wasn't sure what time it was, but judging by the sky, it looked like it was nearing midnight – maybe past.

"You miss her."

A wry smile. "You miss Ansem, don't you?"

"All the time."

"It's just… I never got to see _her_. I never got see her come home," he said.

"I'm sure she sees you everyday, though," Naminé said, so quietly that Riku had to turn to hear her. She looked up at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You know, it's nice that Sora's family could be with you." Riku tilted his head, and let loose a shrug.

"Isn't he always? Our moms were best friends after all… I was kinda mad then that I was the last to know. Not that it was anyone's fault" – _but my own_, he thought bitterly – "but yeah. The funny thing is… it was Sora who tried to stop me from going into that room. That ticked me off too – why did he get to see her before I did? I don't think he understood at the time, either though… he just knew there were a lot of sad faces at the time…"

"He was worried about you."

"I know."

More silence.

"You know, Naminé…" She turned to look up at him through her fringe. He heaved a sigh, and shifted his feet a bit – he wasn't at all great with comforting, but – "They say that time heals all wounds. The pain… you feel from Ansem's death… will fade eventually. Numb out, actually, but still."

"Maybe, but you're never really the same again, are you?" At this, Riku shrugged, but then shook his head.

"I guess not."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"So, how long have you guys been together?"

The girls were sitting at a table that Paine had managed to find – or snatch, rather, as Kairi recalled the way the girl had just thrown herself in one of the chairs, and given the other occupants an ice cold glare that told them to leave if they valued their lives. Exhausted from all the dancing, they'd decided to refuel with some drinks and snacks that Rikku had brought back. Well ... all Rikku had brought back was sugar ("It's _energy_!" she argued hotly with a disgruntled Paine, as Yuna had giggled behind her hand), so all-in-all, Kairi was experiencing _quite_ the sugar high.

Remembering Yuna's question, Kairi answered with the straw still in her mouth, "Two and a half years." Well... Kairi noted, two years, seven months and eight days, _act_ually, but who was counting, really?

Rikku exploded. "_Oh_mi_gosh_, that is soooo cute! I wish _I_ had a boyfriend!" she pouted. Paine rolled her crimson-brown eyes, and nearly snorted.

"You have. Several, in fact." Kairi raised her eyebrows in slight surprise, and Paine added, "Her problem isn't getting boyfriends, it's keeping them. I think each one's lasted two weeks, max."

"That's not true!" the blonde wailed, slamming her hands on the table. The Schmittles went scattering at this, and some fell to the ground. "Nuu! The candy!" Rikku ducked beneath the table. Paine only sighed, and shook her head. Yuna, who had been sitting quietly, brought a finger to her lips as she thought aloud:

"Well, I think there was this _one_ guy that managed to last three and a _half_ weeks... and he seemed pretty decent too..."

"So what's with all the dumping?" Kairi asked, as she popped some candy corn into her mouth. She figured it was Rikku who was ending the relationships – if one could even call it that – and not the other way around. Rikku's attention span was like that of a goldfish's – maybe even shorter.

The perky girl reappeared with a handful of the candy, and she popped them into her mouth.

"Eww! _Ri_kku!"

The girl shrugged, like eating dirt-covered Q & Q's – or Schmittles, or whatever they were – was the most natural thing in the world. "What?"

Dismayed, the platinum-blonde-haired girl stood up. "I'm getting a beer. And real food. Anyone want anything?"

A worried look crossed over Yuna's face. "But Paine, you're underaged, they won't –" The other teen cut her off with an indifferent shrug.

"I'll find a way." And with that, she left. Whoa... was this girl ever headstrong, Kairi thought. And Sora called _her_ that. Pfft.

Thinking of her boyfriend, she suddenly wondered where he was. He said he was going to go for a walk – apparently Kairi's dancing had beaten him up – and that he'd be back soon. But soon never came. Maybe she should go look for him? Or she could call him... but even she doubted that he would hear his cell in this... how would Naminé put it... unruly crowd? Yeah, that sounded about right. People were dancing all around them; the "dance floor", or the rather large space on the beach, had gotten to be a bit tight, so people were now pouring between tables, shouting and screaming to the music. Lights were flashing from everywhere, and fireworks went up every once in a while, that Kairi was surprised she hadn't lost her hearing two hours ago. Or maybe she had, and she was just reading lips...

Okay, back to Sora... the more Kairi thought about it, the more she was deciding to go looking for him. What if he ate something stupid again? Or got into another dick-headed fight? Or...

"Is something wrong?" Kairi turned her gaze to the mismatched ones of her companion. Kairi recalled that being the first she noticed about the girl – the fact that Yuna's eyes were two different colours: one green and the other blue. When Kairi and Sora had asked her about them, she explained that she was of mixed heritage. Kairi didn't know something like that _could_ happen (genetically speaking) – and neither could Sora, of course, since he'd launched a gazillion questions at the poor girl about her background. People never stopped to fascinate him, Kairi thought with a small smile. Something she'd always loved about him.

Quickly pulling herself back to the present, Kairi stumbled out a reply, "Um, yeah... I think I'm going to go look for Sora. He hasn't come back yet..."

Rikku peeped out, "Aw, he looks like a cool guy, I'm sure he can handle himself! No need to worry!" Yuna nodded.

Kairi hesitated. "Yeah... but he tends to get into trouble a lot, and I'm getting kind of worried..." She shook her head. "I'm going to go look for him."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Kairi smiled.

"Nah, I'll be okay, thanks." Paine, who'd just returned with a tray, nodded at Kairi.

"Well, take something to eat, then. I grabbed more than enough." Kairi reached over and grabbed a couple of chocobo-wings on a napkin.

"Thanks." Paine nodded, and Kairi headed into the crowd. Now – where should she start looking...?

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"So you _really_ think you're gonna be a _rockstar_?" one of the girls giggled as she stroked a bicep.

Tidus couldn't suppress a grinned as he flexed the said bicep. Check out the guns, ladies. "Of _course_, baby. I'm gonna make it _big_ – I'll be rich and famous and awesome, and what kind of awesome guy is awesome without awesome babes?" He would wow them with his wit and charm too, no doubt.

More giggling broke out around him, and Tidus felt like a man. _Hell_ yeah. Pssht ... what the hell else did he need? A constant supply of fresh drinks, babes hanging off his arms, and his words, and the lovin' just kept coming. Ah, this was heaven. Hmm ... they would go dancing by the water later, so that Tidus could "lose" his boxers ... hehehe ...

"So tell us, Ti-Ti," a gorgeous blonde with streaks in her hair and a fire-red bikini top spoke up, "where, like, is this awesome multi-million munny mansion that you live in? How many spas does it have, again? 'cause I _love _my massages." She was breathing hotly into his ear, stroking his face, and another girl with a rather tight swimsuit was resting in the crook of his arm, her arm draped over his stomach. Before he knew it, she was coyly undoing the buttons of his shirt, exposing his rock-hard chest, and she ran her hand across it. Man, Tidus loved being _neck-ed_.

"Mmm..." She licked her lips (and a little bit of drool dripped from her mouth, but Tidus pretended not to notice 'cause he was a gentleman), and Tidus grinned. _Day-mn_, was this ever a good night! And he didn't even break a sweat (not that sweat was a bad thing, no way, sweat was _manly_)! The girls were just lapping him up, and the drummer himself was thrilled with the attention he was getting. He looked around the table and saw some sour expressions on the other girls, but Tidus managed to blow kisses at them over the other girls' heads. _Don't worry_, he wanted to say. _You'll get your turn – there's more than enough of me to go around –_

Uh oh.

His eyes caught the familiar glint of a certain head in the distance with a certain sheen to it. A fiery _red_ sheen.

Kairi.

_Crap;_ what was she doing there? She would ruin everything! Ti-Ti woulda cried, except that was totally not manly. He spotted her standing on her tip toes, trying to gett a look around – what or who she was looking for, he wasn't sure; Sora perhaps? – but the idea of getting caught like this sucked balls.

Kairi had a... ah... hard-core, temperamental, _feminist_ streak to her... ranting on about... er... objectifying women (he wasn't _objectifying_ them! He was... flattering them! Yeah, that was it!) ... and she could very well crash his party tonight. She had a tendency to do those kinds of things to him. She never really did like him, the first time they met. Charming as he was, if he did so himself, Kairi never bought it. In fact, she'd given him his first black eye (he'd cried to his mommy, but he never told her that). From a girl, anyways.

And so he usually steered clear of her at times like this.

Okay, so he figured he'd just ignore her for now. Maybe she wouldn't see him. (Fat chance, he thought to himself). After all, the night had been going just fine. Lady Luck was probably sitting by his side, too.

A moment later, Kairi disappeared. And he breathed a sigh of relief. Now back to the girls...

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Elbowing her way through, and trying to avoid getting groped – the _perverts_ – she navigated her way to the other side. Biting into her food as she did so, she kept her eyes wandering – spiky, chocolate-coloured hair... hmm... where could he be?

It was when she avoided being stepped on and threw the idiot a glare when something else caught her eyes.

Spiky, _blond_ hair. Or rather, not so much _spiky_, but the effort was made by the dumbass earlier this evening... and she could see that it was having _some_ sort of effect, since Tidus was lounging around a table with four or five different girls hanging on to his every word, that lech –

Wait a second. Maybe he'll have seen Sora! Or maybe Sora's lurking around somewhere near him... yes, Kairi thought quickly to herself, that seemed highly likely and reasonable, and now if only she could –

"Hey there, red."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Crap. Wow. He had _definitely _entered the 'rowdier' part of the crowd – and a quick glance found a flickering neon sign – _Beach Bar_. So … Tidus had to come all the way over here, then? Sora would have looked around for the blond, except that he was too busy watching his feet – clearly, people had difficulty deciding when they'd had _too much_. Ewww… vomit puddles. Gross.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CH – YIHAAA!'

Sora's attention was sharply brought to a crowd of people standing closer to the shore. Beer bottles, cigarette stubs, vomit puddles, spilled drinks and half eaten food was scattered on the beach surrounding the group, and Sora had to wrinkle his nose a bit. It wasn't very flattering to the landscape at all, really.

The crowd shifted, and Sora rolled his eyes. Totally stupid – whoever was in the middle chugging was going to end up in the ER tomorrow, getting their stomach pumped, honestly.

"Yeah! C'mon, man, one more!"

"Naw, dude, I can't," a voice laughed, and Sora whipped back around. That voice, hang on …

"Go for it, dude, go man!"

"Yeah!"

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!"

Sora weaved his way into the crowd – that voice … he was sure. This was stupid. He was now pressed in between bodies, trying to peek into the center, he was over-reacting, jeez.

"Yo, one more! I can take it!"

No, _shit_, that was it. That had to be. But it couldn't, holy crap, don't let it be …

… what – the – _hell_.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Kairi froze, before furrowing her brows. The voice sounded awfully familiar. Kind of low, and arrogant, and very much like –

"What are you doing out here alone?" the voice stepped, and she felt a tug on her hair. She whipped around – swear words already forming on her tongue – and flashed her eyes upon _him_.

Ah yes. An _asshole_. _That_'s who that voice reminded her of. _How_ on earth could she have forgotten?

Bloody stupid Seifer.

Kairi's face scrunched up in distaste, and she scowled at him. "Get lost."

"I think you already are, sweetheart." They were in the middle of a crowd, some space around them, but not enough to keep Kairi from getting knocked into him every minute. She had a half a mind to shout out at the idiots to get lost too. She had no problem with shoving.

But she didn't want to start anything – not yet. So she balled up her used napkin, and threw at him instead. Seifer waved it off with his hand, and gave her the once-over.

"That the best you got?" Holy _crap_, he was kidding, right? Was he _still_ holding this stupid grudge? Kairi spewed out,

"I didn't know your ego was _this_ pathetic. It couldn't have broken more easily? You're _so_ lame, if only –"

He grabbed her roughly, cutting her short. "Hey! No one talks to me like that! I – "

"Let go!" Kairi tore herself away with a small grunt, and she knocked backwards into the crowd. Naturally, they shoved back, and Kairi resisted falling forwards.

Seifer smirked, and briefly, Kairi wondered if his idiot friends were around. She knew she was relatively safe in a public place, and could land a kick to his knees if she needed to, but still she was wary. She'd be going up against a guy with a grudge – damn their egos – and nobody ever said Kairi was graceful.

"How about you and me finish what we started, huh?" Kairi nearly pulled her hair out.

"You _idiot_!" she screeched. "Can't you let this _go?!_"

"No." He grabbed her upper arm then, and she resisted, but she knew it wasn't enough. In a split second, he'd pulled her close, a breadth space between their faces, and he said in a low voice, "Seifer doesn't like losing."

His grip had tightened, and he was hurting her – she could feel him twisting her arm. Furious, she fisted her hand, and wound it up to strike him, when –

"Hey!"

"Leave her alone, you big bully!"

SMACK.

Kairi's fist slackened after she felt the release of the tension in her other arm. She didn't even have to hit him, but down he went anyways.

"Ow, son of a –!" Seifer shot up straight, clutching the right side his head, his lamewad toque lying sideways on his head. "What the fu –!"

Both he and Kairi turned to face the newcomers, though Kairi had already guessed. And she was right – the trio of females stood behind Seifer; Yuna with her arms crossed, Rikku with her hands on her hips, and Paine, cracking the knuckles of one hand.

No need to guess who laid _that_ punch to the head.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Roxas?" Sora croaked out, squeezing through to stand close to the center. He could see his cousin clear as day, standing in the middle. Well, attempting to stand, it looked like. He was staggering, barely staying up, drink in hand and a lot of it sloshed on his chest. Holy … what was he _wearing_? Not that there was anything wrong with it, but it was just so, _not-Roxas_, Sora was gawking. Just a plain undershirt with a simple blue zip up, baggy navy jeans … _what_? _Rox_as?

But still, the clothing would have been a lot easier to explain if it wasn't for his _behaviour _– in one hand, Roxas was clutching a glass of pungent alcohol, with a fag clasped between two of his fingers. Well, the butt of one – obviously, Roxas had been smoking it for a while. But, _Roxas_, smoking? How … _oh, please, let this be a bad time for me, let this be Roxas giving into peer-pressure for this first time_ … there was a terrible, numbing shock in Sora's body.

_What _Roxas was doing was, quite frankly, totally _vulgar_.

But even that, it wasn't – Sora had no idea. Sora hadn't seen it coming, this – _this _was _not _Roxas … right? Sora would know, Roxas talked to Sora, he … oh, come on …

"Rox?" Sora called out, louder this time. Trying to bite back an incredibly drowning sense of ignorance, naivety and all around disappointment, Sora waited for the wasted teenager to reply. Roxas spun around (after having downed the glass in hand) to the cheering of the crowd, only to have someone come forward with another glass, ready.

"Sora!" Roxas called out, enunciation awful. He gave a goofy grin and held up his glass. "_Dude_! You've been missing out! This is, like, my, like …"

"Ninth," a girl offered, casting Roxas doe eyes. Roxas staggered over, oblivious to the concern sprawled on his cousin's face, and swung an arm around Sora. He waved the glass in front of Sora,

"Want some?" he asked. Sora shook his head numbly – _nine_? Sora wondered how many vomit puddles were from his cousin. Roxas, incredibly tipsy, nearly stumbled forwards when he laughed. "Naw, man, this stuff is _weak_, anyways. Yo, shit, check this out."

Roxas handed the glass to Sora, and to his cousin's horror, Roxas reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small baggie. Sora had no idea what in particular was in it – but anything that was moist, yellow-ish white and clumped together like that could _not _be legal. Roxas proceeded to open the small bag, take out a pinch – the crowd was egging him on – and dump it in his glass.

Sora was so deeply appalled and alarmed; his entire sense of reaction had been stalled. He watched the powder move to the drink; he watched it settle on the surface, like some dirty form of snow; he watched Roxas swirl the tall glass around, the bits disappearing; he watched Roxas lift the glass –

"No!" Sora exclaimed, snatching the glass from him. "You _dumbass_! Are you _trying _to kill yourself?!"

"Yo, Sor, chill-uh!" Roxas replied, pulling a ridiculous face. "You're just mad jealous, man, whatev – "

"You're coming with me, _now_!" Sora hissed, and with that, he over turned the drink (the crowd howled in pain like a pack of animals), and Sora began dragging his cousin away. Totally – disgusting – totally – friggin' – scary – what – the – frig' – was – Roxas – _thinking_!?

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Seifer had a grip on Kairi's arm, and the redhead was fighting back, but he was much stronger. Anger flashed before Tidus' eyes when Seifer pulled her close, and whispered something to her. Tidus shot up from his chair, and watched as Kairi made a tight fist – _yeah, that's right, break his nose, Kai!_ – but –

Something else hit the guy from behind. Tidus left his table behind, the girls whimpering at his sudden leaving – but then again, a man had to have his buddies' backs, right? And when you were in the same band as someone, they were definitley your buddy.

That, and Sora would kick Tidus in the nuts if Kairi got hurt while he was around to just let it happen.

He could hear her scream, "_You jerk, who do you think you are?!"_ from a distance, and Tidus quickened his pace.

Shoving his way into the crowd, the blond elbowed several people out of the way. He could hear the bastard's voice call out to his friends – "_Thrash 'em!"_

Oh no he didn't. As soon as he broke through, he growled,

"What the eff is going on here?" They all turned to look to look at him, and Tidus nearly stood stunned at who the others were.

The three girls from before. Especially the one with the pretty eyes. She looked back at him with curiosity, but Kairi's growl brought his attention back.

"Don't worry, Tidus. We were just gonna bust this guy's ass and – "

Tidus scoffed at this. "_Without _me?" Shaking out his blond hair, the drummer took a step beside the fiesty redhead. Kairi looked around him for a moment, disappointed at something, before turning back around.

Seifer waved his hand then, and Tidus' muscles tightened. He could see the girls behind do the same – it looks as if those babes were keen to fight as well – something that kind of surprised Tidus. Well, the brunette did anyways.

Seifer declared in a bored tone, "Let's go. We'll finish this later."

Say _what?_ Tidus opened his mouth to protest – this dumbass _started_ the fight, and –

"What? Stepping back?" Kairi blurted out. She had her fists clenched, and she looked ready to pummel the guy. Hell, Tidus smelled blood too. Just as fast, Kairi let out a sneer, "Huh. Who's the chicken wuss _now_?"

Tidus smirked in triumph. Thatta girl...

Seifer bared his teeth, before his lips were wrapped in a smug smile. "Don't think I'd get away with hitting a whole bunch of _girls_," he sneered, pointedly looking at Tidus.

Something shook violently inside him. Did that son of a bitch just call him a _girl_? "I'll show _you_ a girl, you mo–" He took a step forward, but Kairi's arm flew out in restraint.

"See ya 'round soon, losers." With that, much to Tidus' dismay, Seifer and gang submerged back into the crowd. Tidus huffed.

"Just when the fun was getting started." Kairi pointedly rolled her eyes at him.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Winded down from the long talk, they'd both stood in silence. With Naminé's attention drawn away, Riku studied her for a moment, memories still clouding his vision, before slowly fading away. A sudden thought emerged; he lifted an eyebrow, his face a mask of perplexion, and it rolled off his tongue before he could really stop it. "You're not _really_ this quiet, are you?"

He saw the blonde start, and he knew he'd caught her off guard. "W-what do you mean?" Again, the indifferent shrug. He could feel a small smirk tug at his mouth, but he restrained. The change of topic felt nice – even if it was at her expense.

"I mean… is it because of all this… everything that's happened, that you're so closed up?"

Naminé actually floundered. Pink tinged her cheeks, and she said almost hotly, "I could say the same for _you_!" Riku didn't laugh, but a huge grin had plastered across his face at her sudden defensiveness – this girl was just _too_ easy to tease. Why he was teasing her, he didn't really know. Although… he wouldn't call it _teasing_ per sae, as a part of him was genuinely interested in what she had to say, but making her blush was funny all the same.

She did have a point though. Great, and he was babbling to himself.

Keeping the topic light, he chose to respond to her remark by saying, "Well, I guess it's because we've been in the same boat."

"Floating in a river of _angst_, huh?" she said, sarcastically. "The _sorrow_, the _drama_ – oh yeah, Riku, _real_ funny."

"I wasn't trying to be funny!" he protested, though mirth laced his words. Naminé huffed – she actually _huffed_ – and blew her blonde strands around her face. And he fought the sudden urge to reach out and brush them away.

Naminé averted her deep blue eyes, then. Hm. Contemplating, he tried to coax her back by asking quietly,

"Well, _is_ that why?"

"Why what?"

"Naminé…" he nearly scolded. She sighed, and threw her gaze back at him, her eyes searching around his face.

"What do you want me to say?" Riku shrugged – again – and he could tell that the girl was getting slightly agitated. Well, he just told her his life story! Shouldn't he get something back for it? Smiling loosely, he shook his head, and said,

"Anything. Anything at all."

It was then that he noticed that Naminé hadn't let go of his arm. In fact, she was winding through it absent-mindedly, so their forearms were touching. And she had no idea that she was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, the slight tingle creeping forwards. He hurriedly fought it down.

Naminé sighed. "No, no… I guess… I wasn't always this… _subdued_. I'm president of my visual arts team, so I guess that counts for something, right?" She looked up at him, and he held her gaze. "I ran a lot of the arts shows… but when we heard about Ansem's health… that just kind of stopped. Well, we all _tried_, I mean, but even the community knew there would be some cancelled productions."

"But you kept going?" Naminé nodded, her face reflecting the soft glare of the moon.

"Yeah…we kept going. Didn't want to let him down, you know?" She let loose a small, humourless laugh. "And besides, we _had_ to, you know, we _do_ have a reputation to hold up, and – what?"

He wasn't really sure, but for some reason, he was holding her gaze quietly. Unlike him, a blush was working rather furiously up her face, turning it almost red. When he didn't answer, she began to back away, confusion written all over her face. Her eyebrows wrought, she began to ask,

"Is something wr – oh!" And like touching a heated stove, she backed away with a sharp jolt. To his dismay, she'd realized that their arms had been intertwined, and before he could even think of anything to say, she was reeling off the apologies,

"I'm _so_ sorry! I – I didn't mean to – I mean, it was from before – I mean, you know – I – I just forgot! Oh dear…" She placed her hands to her cheeks, and Riku couldn't help but gawk. She actually started pacing! Like, like she'd been caught doing something wrong, and was going through the scenarios of how to best explain to her _mother_ of what she'd _really_ been doing, or something –

"Naminé." She didn't hear him. She'd completely averted her eyes, and the next thing he knew, she skittered through the balcony door. Oh hell – hang on a sec –

"Naminé!" he called, following after her. She stopped suddenly, and he had to brace himself against the doorjamb from slamming into her.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Are you okay?" Yuna asked softly. She'd hopped forwards, her long pigtail swinging around her, as she gestured towards the redhead. Tidus couldn't help eyeing her – it just blew Tidus' mind... just_ how_ did she get them to be two different colours? Contacts? But who would do that? _She would_, he figured...

Kairi nodded in response. "Yeah. How'd you guys know where I was?"

Paine's answer was quick. "We saw Seifer following you. It was moments after you left." Rikku perked up, waving her arms in the air,

"Yeah, that jerk!" Yuna added thoughtfully,

"Yeah... but we weren't _really_ sure if he was following you, or if it was a coincidence. But we figured we should follow too, just in case."

"Ah." Kairi turned to Tidus, and quirked a brow. Right away, Tidus could feel a small heat spread around his neck. "And you...?"

"I... uh... saw you a moment too late," he admitted sheepishly. He recalled how he'd tried to pointedly ignore her. "The girls were... kind of... um... distracting?" Kairi gave him a dull look. Tidus noticed that the other girls were watching too, and for some reason, it bothered him that the brunette had to listen to his excuses... He quickly threw his hands up in defense. "Hey! I _came_, didn't I?"

"You haven't seen Sora by any chance, have you?" Tidus stopped in mid-thought at the sudden question, and he scratched his head.

"No... not really... oh wait! I might have seen him... that is if it _was_ him, if ya know what I mean, and..." Kairi motioned for him to continue, and Tidus thought hard. He had seen a head of spiky hair, but then it seemed half the crowd had spiky hair... he shrugged his shoulders and made a guess. "There was this huge ruckus earlier, and I think Sor might've... gone to... uh... check it out."

Oh crap. He just realized what he'd said.

Kairi nearly paled. "Oh _no_. Really?" She bit her lip.

"Oh come on... it can't be _that_ bad, Kai, I'm sure. I don't think he's hurt." Tidus gave a small laugh. "Heh, he ain't that stupid..."

But they exchanged slightly worried glances. Sora... had a tendency to involve himself into any and every dispute, thinking that he could always find a solution.

But it didn't always work out that way, they all knew from experience.

"Well, let's go find him, huh?" Tidus nodded. He could have gone back to the table with his lady friends, but he felt obligated to stick to Kairi's side this time. That idiot could come back at any time.

"You guys want any help?" Yuna asked. She'd been listening to the conversation intently, and she too, looked a bit concerned.

Tidus wanted to say yes immediately – he'd _love_ to get to know this girl better –

"Yeah, sure, all right. You helped us before, maybe you can do it again," Kairi answered. Yuna's smile was bright, and she clapped her hands.

"All right, let's start looking! Ready girls?" Rikku bounced and ran forwards to grab Kairi's hand, and Paine looked indifferent, but she followed anyways.

Yuna strode up between Tidus and Rikku. The blond drummer turned to look at her then, and said, rubbing his head sheepishly,

"Hey, thanks for helping out Kai. I didn't think I was going to get there in time, and I just –"

Yuna didn't look at him, at first, but her eyes twinkled. "No problem. We girls gotta stick together. We knew we should have went with her... besides, I think you were rather busy at that other table."

Tidus almost spluttered. She had _noticed_? For some reason or another, excuses were building up in his mind, but before he could say anything, Kairi interjected lightly,

"Hey, yeah, Tidus... you're free to go back to _that_ table... I've got the other girls with me now."

"B-but... I figured you'd want..." If he said a male protector, he'd have his jaw broken not once, but _four_ times. "It's not like I'm... what's the word...?" He snapped his fngers, "Oh, uh, _undermining_ your, uh, _ability_ to handle yourself. I... just figured you'd want some more... company? It's important to find Sora, after all."

"Hm. _Right_."

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Riku followed Naminé into the living room, raising an eyebrow when she said, "I'm sorry." Say what? "I'm sorry. I – I'm sorry for earlier too." _Huh?_ "You know from, hours ago? I didn't mean to blow up at you, or anything – "

"_Pfft_. You're kidding, right? _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing for that one, and even so, I figured we were like, even at this point?"

"What do you mean?"

Riku rolled his eyes in exasperation, but not unkindly. Naminé stood there, meekly, rubbing her arm awkwardly, as she leaned against the back of one of the couches. Riku moved towards her, with his hands shoved in his pockets, contemplation written all over his face.

"Bygones are bygones, right? You didn't have to apologize for that, Naminé." He tilted his head, and her blush deepened. Something went afloat in his stomach, and he almost laughed. That was all it took? He should tilt his head more often.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Sora had dragged Roxas to the paved roads farther up, and even at this time of night, Sora was able to flag down a cab. Roxas groaned audibly – "Dude, oh man, Sora, I'm gonna be – " – there was a terrible retching noise, and woohoo, yet another vomit puddle at the side of the road. Sora groaned, and Roxas giggled, clinging to his chocolate-haired cousin. With a light shove, Roxas climbed into the taxi, Sora following.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Why do you keep doing that, anyways?" Naminé searched around him, before answering with a confused,

"Doing what?" Leaning his head forwards so her gaze was forced to meet his, he furrowed his brows in amusement. She seemed to lean in the other direction, but he only followed the movement.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Soon enough, Sora paid the taxi driver their stupid fare and stumbled out of with his stupid freaking cousin. Stupid freaking parties, and drunkards, and _teenagers_. Ugh! Sora's mind was reeling with answers to questions that Roxas was useless for – all the blond was going on about was how awesome it was that he could hold so much friggin' liquor, or how some chick had totally promised to bang him if had gotten to fifteen drinks, or …

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

"Apologizing," Riku said quietly. Naminé only stared, and he only quirked a brow in return. When she didn't answer, he moved closer still, resting his hands on the couch behind her, very nearly brushing her hips. She nearly jumped, and began mumbling something incoherently, when Riku pressed his forehead against hers. He made sure not to lose her gaze, and stumped, Naminé finally lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug.

She swallowed. "Sorry?"

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Sora dragged his cousin through the hotel foyer, into the elevator, and eventually down the hallway. The stupid blond weighed a lot, and stumbling around while he was drunk wasn't helping. Not to mention his attention span was that of a gold-fishes – Sora sighed wearily. They were going to have a _very _long talk tomorrow morning … Sora tried not to cringe at hearing whatever Roxas had to say. Innocent until proven guilty, innocent until proven …

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

A small smile graced his lips, and Riku moved to cup her face.

"Don't," he breathed, and this time, she really did shiver because he'd moved his lips precariously close to hers, and he made sure she felt every letter. He tipped his head and –

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Approaching their door, Sora fumbled with his wallet and found his key card. Clicking it in, he swung open the hotel door.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

SLAM!

"Eep!"

"What the fu –!"

Riku tore himself away, a heated flush tearing through his veins, as Naminé launched backwards and away from the couch, nearly falling to the floor; both gawking and spluttering at the door in time to see someone ramming into the room.

Or rather a pair of someones. Riku was the first to his feet; his embarrassment quickly morphed and escalated into rage.

"What the _hell_?"

Sora had come in, dragging a young man with him. The young man – the teen, more like – was wearing a navy zip-up and jeans, had tufts of blond hair fluttering from underneath his drawn up hood – Riku could see from his peripheral that Naminé had covered her mouth with her hands – but his attention was on the two in front of him.

There was no mistaking who this dumbass was.

Sora looked angrier than Riku had _ever_ seen him. Sora, catching the sight of them, looked between the two, and said, voice drowning in frustration, "I _can't_ be_lieve_ this! He – he – "

"Say no more, Sor," Riku growled, cracking his knuckles and taking massive steps towards him. "I'll have his neck snapped and body dismembered in _two_ seconds, just – "

"No!" Sora puffed, as he heaved, and shoved the stupid kid onto the couch near Naminé. Her eyes were bewildered.

"But – !"

"In the _morning_," Sora gritted out. In the morning?! Couldn't he just chuck the body over the balcony now? Oh, the _immense_ pleasure he would get…

Riku stared down at the dumbass with distaste, and saw this blond hair was sticking to his forehead with sweat, face flushed, and eyes already closed. He reeked of puke, alcohol, smoke, and who _knew_ what else… disgusted, Riku bared his teeth.

Damn, that boy better know how to run in the morning. Better damn well _indeed_.

* * *

**A/N**: Hm… they never do get along, do they? Lol – if anyone's interested, I'd recommend checking out Perfect Christmas, and you don't have to review that one. It sets up background information with regards to Roxas and Riku – I would've added it to this fic, but there was no where to place it. That is, if you're interested, heh.

Other than that, review please!


	15. To Thine Own Self Be True

**A/N: **My life, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I'm terribly sorry, if there are any original readers who are still waiting for updates. I suck at life, okay? We all know it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's more emotion than plot, but that's okay. We're all a bunch of sensitive freaks anyways, obviously.

Btw, beware of the language present in this chapter. Other than that, have fun!

-diamonds

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, right.

* * *

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_LiD: Rise and Crescendo_

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* * *

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_Chapter Fifteen_: To Thine Own Self Be True

* * *

Axel felt lost.

It'd been fourteen hours, thirty-two minutes, and six seconds since he last saw (_felt_ was more like it) Rox, and it'd ended _badly_. He'd always imagined Roxas to be surprised when Axel finally honed in on his feelings, and give the kid a clue, but... but... _damn_, okay. So, maybe Axel always had an inkling that his itsy-bitsy blondie would be a little … _overwhelmed _with the sheer passion of Axel's undying love, but still. Totally running out on him? Like, c'mon!

And now his Roxas was missing. The blond hadn't called – not that Axel had been expecting him too, but jeez, he coulda called Dem, for crap's sake – but no, nothing. The streets had been throbbing with people and music and drinks, and Roxas could've been anywhere last night. No matter how many people he'd questioned about a probably-stoned-blond that was about yay-big, with stark blue gems for eyes (did he just really think that?), and a small, thin frame that he could just wrap his arms around and never-ever-ever let go because Roxas was his...

What exactly? His what? _Huh_? What _was_ going on with their relationship? How did Roxas feel about him?

Axel smouldered. _Crap._ He was never going to find out now. Rox probably fled the friggin' city.

Ohhh... clutching his glass hard (and wishing it would shatter dramatically, like it did in the movies), Axel threw his head into his arms, resting numbly on the bar's counter.

"Hey, cheer up, man." He felt a pat on his shoulder.

"Go away, Dem." He could practically _hear_ the smirk that had plastered itself over the blond's face.

"_Dude_. Come on. You've been drinking all night long – I think you've seriously had enough. We're not going to find Roxas like this," Demyx insisted, and Axel tilted his head so one eye was peaking out. Waving his hand around, Dem continued, "Do you think _Roxas_ would want to see you like this? Don't you wanna be... oh I dunno, _sober_, when you talk to him?"

"_If_ I talk to him, Dem, _if._" Axel was damned sure that Roxas was hiding, and hiding well. It was a trademark of dear Roxas' to be able to blend in with the walls. He was such an elusive beast! And Axel, of course, was a beast himself, in his own ways. It had been love at first sight – _meant to be_! Oh, hell, why couldn't Roxas see this?

_Psht_. For as long as Axel had known him, Roxas always wrestled with reality, fighting for control of his surroundings. He'd always try and swing things in his favour, and it hadn't been long when the kid figured out he couldn't make Axel budge. Oh, yeah – he'd _definitely_ learned that the hard way. (Well, okay, Roxas _had _managed to make Axel "swing" in certain directions, but that was a totally out-of-the-blue, uncalled for, Axel-had-no-defenses sort of thing.)

But that was so many years ago. Still, now, Roxas was fighting off the unfamiliar – Axel was sure of it. He wanted to be there for him, even now, after the blow-out yesterday, all he wanted was to hold Rox in his arms. He wanted him to be okay. To friggin' bad that all of a sudden, it was freaking _Axel _who was the big bad scary one. Well, Axel was _back_ to being the big bad scary one.

The redhead cringed.

"_Roxas_..." he'd groaned loudly, and buried his head further. Again, Demyx patted his shoulders briefly, before Axel was suddenly being jerked up, his face forced to turn and look at Dem.

"Ax, serious, dude, you're a mess. You need to keep moving – or at least, let's go back to the 'rent and rest." Axel held his drink closer, refusing to part from his little sanctuary. Demyx's eyes shone a light blue as he hopped off his barstool. "He has to be _some_where, right? He didn't just disappear off the face of the planet, right?"

Axel groaned once more and downed the glass. He was about to order more, when Demyx pulled him from the hood of his sweater, forcing the older teen off the stool.

"Let's _go_. Maybe Xiggy knows something."

Moping with his eyes downcast, Axel trudged along. _Fine_.

* * *

_LiD

* * *

  
_

The sunlight hurt her eyes, and Kairi groaned. Man, where was she again? Sitting up precariously, she realized that she had fallen asleep on the couch. Wait, who's couch, again? Before she could contemplate on it too much, though, she felt a jab on her arm. "Ow! What's your – "

Two different-coloured eyes blinked at her, and Kairi gave a yelp. "Yuna?" she exclaimed. Yuna giggled a bit, and smacked Kairi on the head.

"Awake, I see." She winked and then moved to the kitchen, bustling around and making a lot of noise as she prepared breakfast.

Quickly, Kairi threw off her blanket and moaned slightly; her had begun to pound. Looking down, she noted that she was still wearing last night's outfit. Last night … hmm … _right_. They had run into that pig-headed asshole, and totally kicked his ass. _That_, Kairi could remember clear as bell. But why was she totally hung-over, flopped on Yuna's hotel-room couch. What …

… Sora! He must be worried _sick _about his girlfriend, oh crap, _where_ was her cell phone? Kairi fumbled blearily through her purse (which had been dropped carelessly at the foot of the couch) and attempted to feel around for her phone. There it - ! Oh, wait, that was her make-up compact. Oh! There she – damn, nope, that was her portable gamer.

Bzzzzt.

_Ah_. That thing that was vibrating in her purse was probably it. Well, Kairi hoped so. She didn't _think _she kept any other vibrators just like, _on her_. That would be a little weird, even for her.

"Hello?" She asked groggily, forcing her sluggish tongue to form words.

"Yo, Kai, where are _you_?" she was dismayed to hear it was Tidus, not Sora.

"Tidus, you're such a douche. I'm with Yuna and the girls."

"Dude! You skank-whore. I totally wanted the three chicks, but you just _had _to go and steal them."

"Ugh, Tidus, you're such a man-slut."

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

"Femi-nazi."

"Go eff yourself, you patriarchal piece of crap."

Kairi grumpily snapped her phone shut. She collapsed back onto the couch, feeling nauseous. Not enough to want to vomit, but a little queasy. Thinking back, to what she could pick out from her swirling memory, she and the girls had gone to celebrate whooping-Seifer's ass with a few beers. Nothing to potent, which would explain why Kairi was actually able to function (sort of) this morning. Wait, it hadn't just been the girls … Kairi thought hard.

Struggling only mildly, Kairi managed to stand. Albeit a little wobbly, Kairi walked over to the kitchen area, and watched Yuna as she poured five fresh cups of coffee. Mmmm, coffee. Thank goodness – Kairi needed to sober up, badly.

"Hey, Yuna," Kairi asked, resting her chin on one hand. "Did anyone call me last night?" Kairi could recall now, after all, that Yuna had agreed to be their DD. Well, okay, she was responsible for making sure they all _walked _back to the hotel okay, but still. An important job to do while sober, none-the-less.

Yuna nodded, pushing a cup towards her. "Yeah, I think it was your boyfriend." Kairi quirked an eyebrow, and Yuna smiled, continuing, "You answered the phone, but you were a little to … ah … intoxicated to give a decent response."

"Decent?"

"Yeah, like, you sounded like you were answering a booty call."

Kairi, in spite of herself, snickered. She could just imagine how Sora would handle that; there was a reason that Kairi was head over heels for the guy. He'd be flustering away, maybe a little pink, trying to talk sense into her … jeez.

"Please tell me you took the phone away from me," Kairi implored, taking a sip of the freshly brewed coffee. Roasted almond, yummy. Needed more sugar, though.

Yuna giggled, "Oh, trust me. I had no idea who you were talking to, so I grabbed the phone and told him off. When I realized who it was, I explained what had, you know, gone down, and I think he was okay with it."

"Really?" It wasn't like Sora to give up on worrying that easily. Even though he played Mr. Cool when Naminé came back late that one night, Kairi knew he'd been freaking out just as much as she had inside.

"Well …" Yuna chewed her lip thoughtfully, sipping her own coffee, which was straight black. Kairi noticed that once again, Yuna's choice of dress wasn't exactly the most … self-respecting thing anyone would wear. It was a cute baby-tee with cap-sleeves and a high neckline, but it was made of sheer white fabric that made Kairi want to cringe. Not to mention that coupled with that, Yuna was wearing baby blue plaid hot pants that rode up, like, _way _too high. Shaking her head slightly, Kairi sighed. She supposed she should be happy that it was just a girl's thing, otherwise, it could get really awkward.

Speaking of which …

"Yuna, where's that other dork? Tidus?"

Yuna's lips twitched, and her eyes went past Kairi's head. Confused, Kairi turned around. And her friggin' jaw dropped.

"_PUT SOME PANTS ON, YOU MAN-WHORE!"_

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

He could feel everything and nothing at all. His fingers and toes and nose were numb – kind of like coming out of a harsh winter storm and slowly thawing. His eyes felt glued shut, and his lips were dry. _Dry _… oh, hell, were his lips dry. And his throat … completely parched, every inch crawling with the need for saliva. Maybe a drink?

His stomach riled in protest, and Roxas moaned. Shit, no no no no no nooo don't think of drinks. Aw crap – squeezing his eyes tight, Roxas felt a tingly sensation spread through his body.

" … just let him ... maybe … can't know for …"

There was a soft, angelic voice talking. Did Roxas know that voice? What did Roxas know, again? Thinking hurt too much, dammit. Ugh.

" … asshole, thinks he … doesn't … why not? You're such a …"

He was lying on his back, he knew that much. And he was cold, very cold, so he curled his toes and shifted. Where was he, again? Roxas tried to open his eye open a crack, but the an arrow of light pierced his vision and Roxas almost cried. So he closed his eyes, and shifted. The wall next to him was comfy and squishy … wait. Cracking an eye open, he realized he was, in fact, lying on a couch. That would make sense. Axel would throw out on the couch again.

Wait, Axel was mad at him. Or was he mad at Axel? What the _friggin_' hell had he been doing last night? Why was everyone so _angry_? And who was talking right now? He didn't know that voice, but he did at the same time. Their voice was sharp; spitting out words like poison-tipped shurikens. Roxas felt his stomach twist uneasily, and … and … oh. Close call. Roxas bit his lip. There was an uneasy feeling stifling the air, and Roxas got the distinct impression that he shouldn't make himself awake right now. Even if he was already awake. Dammit. Couldn't the guys just leave, and let him _sleep_? Blood was coursing through his limbs, and now rushing to his head. The pounding was as brutal as a heavy-metal band, and Roxas whimpered a bit. He wanted his piano, his nice, quiet, friendly piano.

" … guys! Shh!"

That was a sound the Roxas recognized, somewhere in the recesses of his swirling memory. He knew it from somewhere, but his brain refused to function. Holy crap, why had he gotten so trashed last night? He hadn't felt this burned out in a while.

"Guys, I … noise. I think … awake …"

_Where _had he heard that sound before? That voice, that noise? Roxas liked where he was, curled up on the couch, but damn, he was going to go crazy. Using sheer force of will, Roxas maneuvered under the blanket on forced himself to turn around. He would open his eyes, he would. But that one act seem to drain his lethargic body, and there was no way he was exerting any more energy right now.

"Look! I think he's … alone, maybe? I …"

"Forget it! He …"

Okay, seriously, this guy had _issues_. Roxas opened his eyes (hissed at the light, closed them again for a second, then tried again) and immediately regretted the sight before him.

Oh shit, oh shit. How how how – what? When did this happen? How could this have happened? The sudden rush of adrenaline through his system made his muscles tense and his head ache even more.

Maybe they wouldn't notice him. Maybe if he lied very still, they'd forget he was there, and leave the room – wherever he was – and then he could slip away and pretend none of this had happened. _Please, oh please, they don't even see me. Tell me they don't even see me_.

"Roxas?" Roxas squeezed his eyes shut. "Roxas, buddy, are you awake?" He felt a cool hand on his warm, warm forehead. Roxas was feeling sick, so sick when his stomach lurched and,

"Oh hell, I'm gonna – " Roxas didn't get to say anymore, but Sora had already lifted the garbage bin up; Roxas leaned over and hurled. The acerbic rush of chunky fluid ripped its way through his mouth, kicking and biting and causing as much pain as possible wherever it touched. _Bastard_, Roxas moaned and collapsed back onto the couch, covering his eyes with his arm. He hadn't even realized he had exerted the strength to prop himself up on his elbows and heave up his stomach, but he could feel the sluggish humour crawl back under his skin.

_This is some kind of hellish nightmare. This is what I get for taking Xiggy's shit. It's all in my head, I'm still tripping out. I am still tripping out. I – _

But it was hard to ignore the disgusted noise coming from the other side of the room. Roxas stubbornly kept his arm in place, repeating the mantra. This was so not happening, it couldn't be. Just thinking about it was ludicrous – Sora? Yeah, right. Probably one of his jerkwad friends messing with him. Roxas had _specifically _spent the last while avoiding him, and Roxas never messed up …

"Roxas? Roxas! Look, I know you're awake, and … and … we-we need to talk, I think. Are-are you listening? _Roxas_?"

What the frig. Yeah, yeah, it just _had _to be Sora. Of all the people that might have run into him, it had to be Sora. Roxas would have preferred _Larxene _to grab him by the ear and drag him to respectability, and that was saying something. He would have preferred the bruises to show for it, than _this_. It was actually kind of … ironic. Witty. _Freaking hilarious_.

Roxas didn't realize he was laughing hysterically until there was a sharp tug on the front of his undershirt. The sudden force of him being jerked up made his head swim, but Roxas just kept right on laughing. Holy hell, here he was! Over two years of carefully planned, perfectly executed visits and cover-ups, and this was what he had to show for it! Oh _hell_, it was a riot!

"Shut _up_! You think this is _funny_, you dick – "

"_Riku_!" a sharp voice interrupted him. "Riku! Put him down, okay? Just _put him down_!" Riku complied, and Roxas was dropped back onto the couch. The endeavor had sent the contents of his stomach swirling again, though, and Roxas leaned over and vomited again. Not much came out – he had aimed all right, though, into the garbage bin – but crap. That had _seared _through his throat.

Roxas didn't like the note of hysteria in his cousin's voice. To be honest, Sora's voice was the last thing he wanted to hear while looking like this. Roxas wasa _total_ douche bag, how the _hell_ did he let this happen? After working so hard for so long, and now, _aww shit …_

"Roxas," Sora began softly.

"I'm cold," Roxas croaked in response, before any of more of the terrible tidal waves of shame could come crashing in. "I'm really, really cold."

"Uh, Roxas, I, uh …" it was the softer voice, the timid one.

"Naminé?" Roxas asked groggily. She was standing at the foot of the couch, his _Jordan Falcon_ sweater in her arms. Sora grimaced, but Roxas was too wrapped up in his own hell to decipher that. Naminé, to her credit, avoided Sora's eyes and walked over swiftly, handing him his black hoodie. Since he was only wearing his undershirt, Roxas slipped the hoodie on clumsily. He forced himself to sit upright, but kept the hood of his sweatshirt on. Tufts of feathery blond hair tumbled over his eyes, but Roxas hardly noticed, considering he was staring at the floor.

Licking his cracked lips, Roxas wondered if he was supposed to begin. And if so, _where _he was supposed to begin. Was he supposed to explain why he was down here? How he knew Naminé? Oh, Naminé … Roxas wondered, briefly, if she had a role in all this. Maybe … maybe … he should ask? But in what place was he, to be asking questions?

"Rox," Sora began again. He was seated on the coffee table, right in front of Roxas. "I think you know I've got a lot of questions. Do you want to answer them?"

_No! Nononono!_ His head screamed, but already his heart was sobering up, and Roxas nearly let out a sigh. Oh, typical Sora. Typical, wonderful Sora, to do this. Sora would never coerce information from anyone, but in his own charming way, no one would ever refuse. So of course, Roxas nodded, though a bit reluctantly.

"Do you want to ask me anything first? Do you need anything? Are you okay?"

A brief stirring, before a voice roughly grumbled, "A _black_ _eye_ is what he needs –"

"Rik –"

"_Sor_, you sure you don't want me to out him over the balcony? It's _right_ there, and –"

"_Riku._"

Roxas could _hear_ the exchange of glares, and his own temper began to flare. Sure, the dumbass was right; maybe he _did_ deserve to be thrown over the balcony, but hell, Sora would be doing that, _not_ the dickwad emo-boy.

There was a low grumble, a loud thump as Riku probably threw himself against the couch, and he could hear the following drumming of fingers in a fierce display of impatience.

Whatever. Forget him.

"How – " Roxas flicked his blue orbs up to meet Sora's identical ones, before dropping his gaze again. "What happened?"

A small grimace tugged on Sora's lips. "I was going to ask you the same thing, Rox." Roxas didn't respond. Sighing, Sora continued, "I don't know, honestly. I was wandering around during the bash last night, and found you surrounded by a pack of animals. You – " Sora faltered a bit here, but quickly continued, "were acting like a dumbass, to be honest. I thought you were going to kill yourself, so I dragged you back into our hotel room."

So Roxas had only himself to blame, as usual. Digging his hands into his hoodie's pocket, Roxas asked, "Sora?" There was no need to try and get his attention, because the chocolate-haired teenager hadn't taken his eyes off his cousin since he'd woken up. "Do you think we could talk about this … like … alone?" He winced, expecting yet another snappy remark from Riku.

Sora instead replied, "Yeah, okay. Hey, Riku, Naminé? Could you guys … ?"

"Sora, you've _got _to be kidding. The stupid kid ruins everyone's night, goes into a freaking coma on our couch and was being a total turd, and you're actually list – "

"Riku!" Naminé interrupted softly. "Riku, look, let's just go downstairs or something, okay?" Roxas didn't lift his head, didn't see what was going on, but there was a moment of silence before he heard the creak of the couch, and shuffling around. The door clicked shut behind them, and Sora punched Roxas' upper-arm affectionately.

"So?"

"_So what?" _was the immediate response in Roxas' head, but somehow, he didn't think that was what Sora wanted to hear. There was a strained silence between the two; both of them were on either end, stretching it out between them until finally, Sora snapped and said simply, "You're not okay, are you?"

Roxas shook his head.

"How long has it been then, since you were all right?"

Roxas choked, a little, because he couldn't bring himself to say anything. His mouth was already dry and his vision blurred, but it seemed to have increased twice fold in the last second. No answer from him, even though Roxas was swimming through his head, trying to piece together some sort of sentence that wouldn't make Sora hate him forever.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

Sora sighed, and dropped his own gaze to the floor. "Rox … you've got to take this more seriously, okay? I know – " he was interrupted though, by a stifled gasp from his cousin. Brow furrowed, Sora dipped his head so that he could see Roxas' face under his hood. Sora was startled – but in an odd way, relieved – to see anguish scribbled over face. Roxas – despite all of his startling behavior – was still capable of feeling remorse, if nothing else.

Sora moved to stand up, saying softly, "Okay, Rox, if you don't want to talk about – "

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Roxas mumbled quickly, ducking into his hood.

"Huh?" Sora asked, teetering between sitting down again or moving away from his cousin. Roxas sighed – a weary, jaded sigh – and looking up to meet Sora's eyes for a moment and repeated, dejectedly,

"I don't – Sora, it's really … you know, I couldn't ever talk about this before, so, I mean, I don't know if … " Roxas glanced up, and saw that Sora was still looking at him expectantly, so Roxas finished so softly it was inaudible.

"Rox …"

"I felt like shit, okay? That's why … that's why you never heard about any of this before. Because I thought you'd think I was a total …" he let his sentence trail off, and Roxas bit his lip.

Sora sat back down, waiting for Roxas to continue. How strange, his cousin looked right now. His skin, normally lively and toned, was chalk-white and almost pasty; his clothes, normally so pristine and cutting-edge, consisted of last night's jeans and an oversized hoodie; but it was his eyes, that Sora noted the most. There was … there was nothing different at all, in those eyes. Sora wondered how he couldn't have noticed it before. There was not a glimmer or a spark, but a lackluster quality and … a jaded, exhausted haunting to them. Maybe Sora had recognized it, many times, but had just refused to accept that something was wrong.

Sora knew that two years ago, Roxas had dropped out of his elite academy and opted for the local high-school instead. But they visited each other a few times a year – more often, Roxas would come to Destiny Islands instead of vice versa. After all, after Roxas' parents split up, his mother – Sora's late father's sister – came back to live close to her family in Destiny Islands while Roxas' father got custody of the boy and remained in D'Arc City. But that was … what, ten years ago? It had been difficult for Roxas to understand at the time, Sora remembered, because it had been difficult for him to grasp too. He just remembered thinking that if Auntie was coming to live in Destiny Islands, why couldn't Rox come too?

But still … Roxas always came to visit, _always_. And nothing had ever seemed out of place – okay, he got cockier and cockier with Riku, but that was to be expected. But he always had a good time, and seemed to enjoy Sora's company. Right?

Roxas' eyes flicked up, and Sora realized he'd been staring. Sora couldn't remove his gaze though – when had his cousin become this reclusive? Roxas lowered his eyes again, his fingers fiddling with a loose thread from the couch. Maybe he mistook Sora's silence, because Roxas stuttered, "Please – please don't be mad, Sora. I just … I wasn't thinking straight, you know?"

"Then, or last night?" Sora asked, and he couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Roxas shifted uncomfortably. "Sora … I …" He paused, and lifted his gaze so that he was staring at the wall past Sora's head. "What do you want me to say?" A touch of pleading had shimmied its way into his voice.

"Can I have the real story, Roxas? Do you want to let me know what's going for real?"

"I – I guess," Roxas replied in a non-committal tone. Raising an appraising eyebrow, Sora was about to respond but Roxas cut in, saying, "I'll try, okay? But I mean, it's not that simple. So I mean, it's like … You know how I switched schools, a few years ago? Dropped out of Radiant Garden?"

"I remember that," Sora conceded. "Your dad wasn't happy with it; your mom always said."

Roxas sighed, and it sounded like the weight of a hundred thousand stones. "It … well, in the beginning, it didn't go so well, you know? I … public school was really different than Radiant Garden, from like, the people who attended the school to how the school was run. I was really, really out of place. And I mean, I guess, I mean, there were all these different groups and it just didn't make any sense – I mean, I wasn't a total idiot, like, I'd seen it in movies in stuff, but, like, I mean … High-school's a pretty vicious place, you know? Sure, movies make fun of it, but the real thing is nothing and everything like what you think it would be."

Sora frowned worriedly. High-school _was _a cruel place, he knew. Honestly, though, Sora wasn't one to brag, but back at Destiny Islands Collegiate, he didn't really have to deal with that kind of drama. Not so much because it didn't exist, but because Sora got along with almost everyone really well, and he knew that he was well-liked by the student body. He tactfully decided not to mention any of this.

Roxas continued, not looking at Sora, "And then … I had a run in with this total asshole – the cockiest dickwad I'd met. Like, he came to class, I swear, just to put me on the spot and try and humiliate me. That, or just creep the hell out of me and … frig, I don't know. Him and me, just totally clashed."

Worriedly, Sora couldn't help but interrupt, "He isn't still harassing you, or anything? Please tell me he grew the hell up and – "

"Yeah! Yeah, actually," Roxas reassured, and Sora actually saw a touch of a nostalgic smile to Roxas' face. "Yeah, don't – it's cool. He's actually kinda … yeah. It's complicated. But, uh – I met this other guy who was pretty cool, and his name was Demyx. Like, Demyx and the other guy, they didn't come to class very often, but Dem asked me to hang out one time and I took him up on the offer. And then – " Roxas' lip twitched a bit again, as if he were sharing a private memory with himself, " – and then, I remember walking outside and finding out that Dem – the coolest guy I've met so far – is actually best friends with the other guy that I just couldn't stand."

"Sounds a little familiar, huh?" Sora teased gently. Roxas grimaced a bit and nodded. Sora, before Roxas could continued, asked, "What was this other guy's name, by the way?"

Roxas bit his lip before answering softly, "Axel. His name's Axel." There was an unreadable emotion lingering around Roxas, but Sora wasn't going to ask. Now that Roxas was talking, he didn't want to stop him. His cousin was quiet for a moment, before he continued, ducking deeper into his hood,

"These guys – I don't know, Sora, you're probably going to want to kill me, but …

"They weren't the best … _influence_, to be around? I mean, I … I don't know. One minute they were offering me cigarettes while we were skipping class, then I was getting booze shoved at me after they dragged me to parties, and … and … then it was hanging out at Axel's house, passing a joint between us, or crashing at Demyx's, where Xiggy always had something up his sleeve …"

Sora was more than just a little unnerved. Oh, he wasn't naïve, his school had their fair share of potheads and stoners. But …

Roxas carried on, not looking at his cousin's face, "I don't know Sora, I really don't – it was really … hard, okay?" Roxas struggled, and managed to add, "It wasn't – maybe I shouldn't have done some of the stuff that I did, but I did, but whatever, you know? You can't change what's already gone down."

Sora couldn't argue with _that_, necessarily, but he had to bite his lip from saying anything all the same. Picking his words carefully, however, Sora commented, "Roxas, why didn't you say anything? If you were that … out of place, why didn't you call me? We always talk."

"I – " Silence. Roxas tried again. "I … Sora, it's not that simple. I don't know how to explain it, but … it wasn't a good year for me, you know?"

"Obviously, with the kind of stuff – "

"No, Sora, as in, even before that. I don't know – what I said before? It's been a long, long time since I had felt that … _alive_, that _real_. And I – "

A mixture of hurt, agitation and concern was wringing itself through Sora's system, and he couldn't help but bite out, "Great way to remedy the problem, Roxas. Because you're the only one who's ever felt that kind of pain."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas asked meekly.

"Rox, come on. This has everything to do with your parents splitting, and then your dad gets married a year later. And I _get _that it must have hurt – " Sora couldn't believe the things they were saying, where was this coming from? He saw Roxas stiffen on the couch, but Sora ploughed on, "If you were feeling so shitty, didn't you think that I could have at least had _something _to say?"

Roxas replied carefully, "Sora, you wouldn't understand …"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think I don't know what it feels like, to feel totally abandoned? What about my dad, huh? You think it's been easy, not having – "

"That's not what I meant! Look, Sora, no, no! You've got me all wrong! See, this is why I didn't – "

The hurt was evident in his voice now, Sora knew. He couldn't contain it, but … _hell_, it _stung_; Sora had always considered Roxas a number one confidant, and had always thought that this was a mutually understood thing. But knowing that during one of his cousin's darkest hours, Sora was pushed into the shadows? How was that – what did that –

"Right," Sora began, more heatedly then he'd meant, "So I guess those friends of yours were the best answer to that, huh? You were feeling like shit, and so why not find people to push you through the downward spiral, right? What the hell were you thinking, hanging out with – "

"_DON'T_!" Roxas burst out angrily. Startled at the interruption to his ranting, Sora blinked and studied his cousin. The blond was trembling, just a bit, and biting his lip very hard. And just as the trickles of shame were beginning to crawl in for Sora, Roxas spat bitterly, "_Don't_ even go there, Sora. Look, you _need _to let me talk, if you want to hear this. And – and I'm _trying _my best, but if you're going to talk about my friends like that …"

To his grace, Sora bowed his head. He realized that his own fists had been clenched rather tightly, and little crescent moons were digging into his palms. Where had _that _come? That hadn't sounded like the himself at all – damn, so much pent up distress and fear at his ignorance, at his worries … Sora stood up, and began pacing the room. He didn't like this side of himself, not at all. Taking a deep breath, Sora realized he _did _need to hear this. And, regardless of his indignation, he supposed he didn't have a right to judge Roxas' friends. Friends were found in the strangest places and took the weirdest, harshest form, sometimes.

Sora stopped pacing for a minute, and looked at his cousin directly. "Okay. I'm sorry." Roxas nodded, mumbling his acceptance through parched lips. He supposed he should offer Roxas a drink, but for once, Sora couldn't bring himself to be that hospitable.

There was a pregnant pause, an awkward silence. Ever the instigator, Sora attempted to break it by venturing forward with, "So, then what happened, Rox?" He was relieved that his voice was softer, and far less confrontational now. "The rest is history?"

Roxas, even though he was sitting upright on the couch, somehow managed to curl up tighter. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath and replied, "Ye-no. Sort of … well, I don't know. I think even Axel and Demyx started to notice that something was wrong, maybe. If anything was wrong. I was friggin' crazy, Sora, I think. I don't know, maybe I still am. But …

"It just, it just started to feel like I was working so hard. I was shoveling and shoveling away at this huge-ass hole in my own head, and-and … I was sinking deeper and deeper, and I was just so _tired _all the time, but I kept on shoveling. I'd keep doing things that even they thought was dumb shit, and I lost track, I think." Roxas was even paler now, paler than the chalk-white he had been before. Was that possible? Could a person be that ill? Sora's lower lip trembled a bit, but he said nothing. Giving a half-shrug, Roxas continued, "I just couldn't take it anymore. I had dropped out of the stupid freaking prep school, I was in this totally … _foreign_ place and I was in over my head, but there was no way I could ask my dad to go back, I …

"And I always hated that place, you know?" There was a flush of colour to his cheeks now. An angry sort of pinkish tinge had settled in, and Roxas' eyes were brighter now.

Sora shook his head, not wanting to ruin the moment. Indeed, Roxas, glaring at the coffee table, spat it out: "_Radiant Garden_: home to the world's most pretentious, arrogant, big-headed elitists who spent all of their time, and all of their money creating crappy, phony art to reflect their pathetic, phony lives. I'm one of the dickheads, too, you know."

"That's not true – " Sora tried to cut in, but Roxas was in a full-blown rage.

"Don't even start that with me, Sora! We both know it. I sat in those drama classes, spending my days throwing myself into realities that didn't even exist because my daddy had the money so I didn't have to worry about the real world. Watch the pain set in, though, just _watch_, Sora. Watch how kids like us deal with actual shit, and watch them all do the same thing I'm doing now, only they've got expensive wines and grade-A speedballs instead of the shit I was tanking on."

Eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline, Sora wondered silently how he had never caught a hint of this vast expanse of _bitterness _from his cousin. Quietly, Sora sank into the single-seater and watched his cousin. Blue orbs flicking up to meet blue, Roxas continued, "I couldn't do it anymore, Sora. I had tried _so freaking hard _to get away from it all by dropping out the school, but it was always there. It's always there, at my house, you know? With my dad, and my step-mom, always … just …"

"What about Larxene?" Sora asked softly, because his curiosity got the best of him at the worst of times. If he hadn't been watching his cousin so intently, he might have missed the dark shadow that passed over Roxas' face before he answered,

"Yeah, her too. Not a lot of help, she is."

"So …"

"So I was frickin' crazy, Sora! I'm freaking stupid and the biggest dickhead in the whole world, and I _tanked _Sora, like you don't even know – "(Sora winced a bit here, but Roxas was too caught up to notice) " – and then, one day … I just … " Roxas chewed his lip thoughtfully, before finishing, "_… snapped_. That's it." He gave a pathetic, what-can-you-do sort of shrug, not looking at his cousin. Between them, a quiet settled. Sora, thinking Roxas was finished, was about to say something when his cousin very added, very mellifluously, "They took care of me, Sor. Maybe some people think it was their fault in the first place, but they've always looked after me."

Sora understood, but the pain was blossoming like a thorny rose in his chest. This time, though, instead of anger, Sora could feel the back of his eyes growing hot, and a lump in his throat when he managed to ask, "Rox … we were in touch that year. You came and _visited _for winter break. I sent you letter after letter, and you stopped responding after a while, remember?" Sora squeezed his eyes shut, and took a shuttering breath, before he continued,

"I called and you were barely there, even when you answered the phone. You – we've always been each other's closest family, I don't know, maybe I'm a sentimental dork – " Roxas made a noise of protest, but Sora shook his head, continuing, " … but I don't get it. Roxas, I was there. Roxas, it's been _three years_. How … how could you have kept this from me? Did something change? What's been happening with you for these last few years?"

It seemed impossible, but Roxas managed to duck himself somehow, even farther into his hood. Sora wasn't sure if Roxas was going to reply, but then it seemed his cousin mustered the courage to shake off his hood. His hands still in the hoodie's pockets, Roxas looked up and met Sora's eyes for the first time in what Sora realized was a long, long time. He held Sora's gaze, too, for an endless stretch of time, before breaking away and squeezing his eyes shut. Eyes still tight and jaw clenched, Roxas managed to say with painstakingly,

"I lied, Sora, okay? Not just once, or twice, but again and again and a-friggin-gain. It was one after the other, and I was on a roll, and you never questioned me, so I just kept getting away with it, and I just – I looked you straight in the eye and would say the same bullshit I'd tell my dad, or my mom, or –"

"Stop it!" Sora didn't even realize it was his own voice that had shouted. Roxas stopped immediately, eyes bright and face flushed.

Okay, okay. Sora was shaking a bit now, trembling. He was gripping his knees very tightly, and he just wanted Roxas to _stop talking _for just a few freaking seconds so that he could pull himself together. Sora couldn't even think of an answer to that. What was he supposed to say? _"Why'd you do it? How could you do this to me? Don't I mean anything?" _All of them sounded like stupid melodramatic lines from a craptacular soap opera, and Sora was not going to let things spin out of control like that. His life wasn't a TV show, it never had been, and happy endings did seem to elude him at every corner. Oh _hell_… Roxas had no idea …

" … I – I'm … I …"

"You're what, Rox? What are you?" That was harsh, but Sora couldn't stop.

"Sora – don't – I …"

"_Who _the hell are you, anyways?" he reeled, maddeningly running his fingers through his hair. "Apparently, everything I thought you were was one big act, right? Your teachers would be so freaking proud, had even the best of us fooled – "

"Sora, cut it out, don't – "

"_Good job, Rox_!" Sora didn't realize he was on his feet until Roxas looked up, and he realized they weren't eye-to-eye. "We're so freaking proud of you. You were trying to fool all of us – you were trying to dick around with me, and it worked. Okay? You win."

"That's not – "

Sora was shaking again, and he hadn't felt this angry in years. He felt so … _stupid. _So totally used. He always, _always _gave Roxas the benefit of the doubt – even when his best friend, his girlfriend, even when his _mom_ pointed out that Roxas wasn't being Roxas, Roxas was being weird, Roxas …

"You really don't get it, do you? I've spent forever sticking up for you, forever trying to be _there for you_, but if you think it's okay to just toss that around, than fine! You don't think – "

"_I know_!" Roxas burst out, leaping to his feet. Anger and hostility had cloaked itself around him, and maybe, just a little bit, Sora was scared. "I _know _I don't think, I know you think I don't use my head, but _you're the one _who doesn't friggin' _get it_. You think this has been _easy_? You think I've enjoyed – "

"Oh, I see! You're the _victim _here, Roxas, poor you; you just _had _to lie to the people that actually care about you – "

"Yes! Yes, shit, Sora, I _did_! Because every time you called, and every letter you sent, was the best friggin' news I'd heard. It was always: you had your first girlfriend, you'd started your first band, high-school was awesome, you'd made a bunch of new friends, _life was so freaking awesome_, wasn't it? Just a walk in the friggin' park!"

Sora was so alarmed, he knew his eyes must have been as wide as saucers. Not only was Roxas bitter, but here, for the first time in his life, the poison of jealousy had laced itself through his cousin's words. Roxas – upper-class, ridiculously rich, fabulously dressed, witty, artsy, sarcastic Roxas – was seemingly full of treacherous envy. All the same, Sora didn't know what the hell was wrong with the both of them, because the next words out of Sora's mouth were,

"That's not an excuse. So if I was so freaking happy, than why didn't you try sharing the friggin' load on your back? Why not actually open – "

"Oh, come off it, Sora," Roxas spat. He wasn't shouting anymore, thankfully, but this quiet temperament ripped through Sora even more. "Who the hell would _choose _to make _your_ life more difficult?"

"What's – "

Roxas gave a hollow laugh, and reached back, throwing his hood back up. Stuffing his hands into his hoodie pocket, he said acrimoniously, "You really don't get it, do you?"

Perhaps tactfully, perhaps callously, Roxas walked right past his chocolate-haired cousin.

The door clicked shut behind him, and Sora swallowed the hard lump in his throat.

* * *

_LiD_

* * *

What an incoherent mess.

Things had just spiralled from bad to worse within a span of twelve hours, and the fact that Roxas had lain there, nearly unconscious; the unspeakable giant chocobo of him hovering throughout the room had blown the tension out of proportions.

Naminé bit her lip as Riku followed silently behind her. A glance back told her that he had his hands shoved in his pockets, and he'd drawn the silver fringe of hair over his eyes. She had absolutely no idea what he was thinking, and it scared her.

She knew that he was pretty upset with the Roxas fiasco – what she didn't know was how upset he was over the fact that Naminé had _known_ where Roxas had been the entire time – and that she'd been _mingling_ with the enemy, so to speak. His anger served her right, though, she supposed – she herself had broken down in guilt and confessed to having known about Roxas within an hour of Sora bringing him into the room. But all the same, Riku's hate for Roxas was unfathomable, and she was uncertain of what it had done to her own relationship with Riku. He didn't really seem like the forgiving type.

Poor Sora. How had he managed with the two of them together was beyond her. Riku was ready to kill Roxas within a few seconds' glance – what would've happened over the course of several days? She cringed at the thought.

Naminé sighed. Finally arriving downstairs, standing undecided at the archway into the cafeteria, Riku still hadn't said anything, and she was wary of him. With an effort, she forced herself to turn and face him. He didn't meet her eyes.

"Riku…" Again, she chewed on her lip. An apology was in order here, even though she'd apologized a dozen times over the past couple of hours for her behaviour. She had an inkling, though, that it went unnoticed with both of the boys' minds preoccupied.

So she'd try again.

Clearing her throat, Naminé pleaded, "_Riku_." It was a moment before his intense aqua eyes met her own calm blue. Forcing herself to remain in control, Naminé continued, "Riku, please, I-I'm really …"

"Sorry?" Riku finished dryly. "Yeah, I bet the asshole is spewing the same crap to Sora back upstairs." Naminé bit back a groan of frustration as Riku swept past her, now that they were in the front lobby. The front doors were revolving around and around, as fellow hotel guests bustled through, carrying on with their own errands and affairs. Riku stopped before the doors, turning around for a brief second – Naminé couldn't hold it though, and let her gaze slip and hide behind a curtain of blonde bangs.

When she looked up again, Riku had left.

* * *


End file.
